Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide

Throne wrote:

Any more info available on Aasimars?

What lineages are available?
How do they work; do you just pick one, or is it down to a feat pick?
What non-feat racials do they get, if any? Darkvision?

It was mentioned upthread that they get a permanent flight option at 17. Is there an earlier short-duration flight option available? (Prereq for the permanent wings?)
What other angelic-flavoured options do they get, beyond spell-likes?

(Playing one in an upcycled Tyrant's Grasp, just a human with no racial feats at the moment, so interested what I have to look forward to)

The Aasimars get Angelkin, Lawbringer, and Musetouched as possible lineages -- these are optional ancestry feats that you can only get at first level (but can skip if you'd prefer some other ancestry feat instead).

Most of their non-feat abilities are those of their "other" ancestry, but it does kick up your vision one step (so it gives you low-light vision, or if your ancestry already gave you low-light vision, it gives you darkvision).

Prior to the level 17 permanent flight option, there is an earlier short-duration flight option available at level 9 (which is actually a prerequisite for the level 17 option), which gives you 10 minutes of flight once per day.

Most of their ancestry feats are spell-like abilities, but there are a couple exceptions. For example, there's a level 13 feat which gives all your weapons/unarmed strikes the good and magical traits, and makes them inflict an extra point of good damage. There's a level 9 feat that gives you a +1 circumstance bonus to saves against divine effects. There's a level 5 feat that gives you resistence 5 to one kind of energy. And a couple other things.

Ventnor wrote:

Misko wrote:

Could I get some more info on the riding drake, other than it being Uncommon?

I, too, would like to know a little more about the Riding Drake. As in, does it actually have some draconic stuff going on?

The riding drake is an interesting mix...

I read Musetouched as Mustachioed at first.

I'm not going to lie, I was more than a little disappointed when I realized my mistake (even though I was a bit confused as to why it wasn't a tiefling heritage).

Tnank you, Prince.

Back on topic:

Does the Bastion archetype involve shield bashing as well, or is it all defensive?

The armour archetype is called the Sentinel, yes? How early does it allow for expert proficiency? Can you get master through it?

(Can you tell I like tanky characters?)

These archetypes that are about being good with some piece of gear like the Archer, Bastion, and Sentinel--do you usually need to be proficient with those items as a requirement for entry, or do they typically give proficiency when you take the dedication?

WHAT IS THE COOLEST NEW THING FAMILIARS CAN DO!?

Back on topic:

Does the Bastion archetype involve shield bashing as well, or is it all defensive?

The armour archetype is called the Sentinel, yes? How early does it allow for expert proficiency? Can you get master through it?

(Can you tell I like tanky characters?)

These archetypes that are about being good with some piece of gear like the Archer, Bastion, and Sentinel--do you usually need to be proficient with those items as a requirement for entry, or do they typically give proficiency when you take the dedication?

I saw elsewhere that the archer grants proficiency. But each archetype was made semi-indepenendently, so I wouldn't assume that they share a common pattern when it comes to proficiency.

The armour archetype is called the Sentinel, yes? How early does it allow for expert proficiency? Can you get master through it?

(Can you tell I like tanky characters?)

These archetypes that are about being good with some piece of gear like the Archer, Bastion, and Sentinel--do you usually need to be proficient with those items as a requirement for entry, or do they typically give proficiency when you take the dedication?

I can answer from what folks have said already in various places. Sentinel gives you medium armor, or heavy if you've already got medium. It matches your class-provided armor proficiency advancement, but only up to Expert. (Weapon archetypes scale further, because they don't have to deal with Monk.)

The gear archetypes generally provide proficiency, and the style archetypes (like dual wielding) generally do not.

WHAT IS THE COOLEST NEW THING FAMILIARS CAN DO!?

DEPENDS! I really like the one that lets your familiar take on the same humanoid and ancestry form as the master. It keeps something akin to their nature, like a cat's eyes, and it's purely cosmetic. But having your animal companion as another humanoid you can talk to and everything is REALLY nice.

Other ones that are neat is Valet, which lets them use their 2 actions to pull out an item you're wearing and place it in your hands. Or Partners in Crime, which gives the familiar a reaction to Aid in Deception or Thievery checks.

Those familiar abilities sound very cool!
One thing, though. I thought Familiars, being minions, couldn't use reactions.

Those familiar abilities sound very cool!

One thing, though. I thought Familiars, being minions, couldn't use reactions.

Partners in Crime specifically says in its ability that despite familiars being minions, this ability gives them a reaction to use the ability.

It's a case of specific rules overriding general rules.

Oh, that's nice. For a moment I was afraid there was going to be another 'vulture situation'.

Be there anything that would help an ol' Gentleman of Fortune forge his path on the open seas?

Back on topic:

Does the Bastion archetype involve shield bashing as well, or is it all defensive?

It's all defensive. But the new shield in the APG, Exploding Shield, works well with the Bastion's Destructive Block. And the new shield is priced as a consumable too!

Maybe combine those two aspects with the Viking Archetype, so you can keep pulling out Exploding Shields, destroying them with Destructive Shield Block, and pulling more out?

Seems like a fun gimmick build to me.

Back on topic:

Does the Bastion archetype involve shield bashing as well, or is it all defensive?

The armour archetype is called the Sentinel, yes? How early does it allow for expert proficiency? Can you get master through it?

(Can you tell I like tanky characters?)

These archetypes that are about being good with some piece of gear like the Archer, Bastion, and Sentinel--do you usually need to be proficient with those items as a requirement for entry, or do they typically give proficiency when you take the dedication?

Oh, that's nice. For a moment I was afraid there was going to be another 'vulture situation'.

Vulture situation?

Goodham wrote:

Oh, that's nice. For a moment I was afraid there was going to be another 'vulture situation'.

Vulture situation?

Vultures were one of the new animal companions in Age of Ashes, and their support ability was a reaction that let them regain HP from eating dead creatures.

Which sounds really great and neat! Except it's a reaction, which minions by default do not have. And there's no text overriding that in the ability. So it's literally a broken ability.

Be there anything that would help an ol' Gentleman of Fortune forge his path on the open seas?

Arr! The Pirate archetype be what yer looking for! Feats fer rope-swingin' and plank-walkin' abound, and any who swear themself to the pursuit o' plunder can learn the art o' the cutlass, whip, an' boardin' ax. (Or 'scimitars and rapiers', whips, and 'hatchets' as the landlubbers call them)

Verzen wrote:

Goodham wrote:

Oh, that's nice. For a moment I was afraid there was going to be another 'vulture situation'.

Vulture situation?

Vultures were one of the new animal companions in Age of Ashes, and their support ability was a reaction that let them regain HP from eating dead creatures.

Which sounds really great and neat! Except it's a reaction, which minions by default do not have. And there's no text overriding that in the ability. So it's literally a broken ability.

As a DM, I'd probably vote that if a minion gets a reaction ability, then it's implied that they can only use their reaction for that ability and it's specific for that situation.

Ezekieru wrote:

Verzen wrote:

Goodham wrote:

Oh, that's nice. For a moment I was afraid there was going to be another 'vulture situation'.

Vulture situation?

Vultures were one of the new animal companions in Age of Ashes, and their support ability was a reaction that let them regain HP from eating dead creatures.

Which sounds really great and neat! Except it's a reaction, which minions by default do not have. And there's no text overriding that in the ability. So it's literally a broken ability.

As a DM, I'd probably vote that if a minion gets a reaction ability, then it's implied that they can only use their reaction for that ability and it's specific for that situation.

And that's a perfectly valid call to make as a GM! But it runs into a problem of rules being implied versus other rules being explicit. So it'll be ran differently at every table, which makes it a headache for those who mostly play in PFS, which is very to-the-T with their rules.

Long John wrote:

Be there anything that would help an ol' Gentleman of Fortune forge his path on the open seas?

Arr! The Pirate archetype be what yer looking for! Feats fer rope-swingin' and plank-walkin' abound, and any who swear themself to the pursuit o' plunder can learn the art o' the cutlass, whip, an' boardin' ax. (Or 'scimitars and rapiers', whips, and 'hatchets' as the landlubbers call them)

By the powers, it be soundin' awful like Ol' Long John be gatherin' up the crew again. Especially what with what they be sayin' about this swash buckling class to go with it. Or mayhaps a clever rogue is what this gentleman o' fortune's calling be. Thank ye, All-Seeing Orb, Long John never forgets a friend.

WHAT IS THE COOLEST NEW THING FAMILIARS CAN DO!?

Hmm... That's pretty subjective, but I guess my favorite new familiar ability is "Independent", which allows the familiar to gain 1 free action in an encounter during a round in which you do not give it a command - with the stipulation that, even though it will usually do what you want it to during these actions, the GM can override that if he feels a different action would make more sense, rather than performing the action you preferred. This makes me like from both the player and the GM perspectives.

My favorite Feat from Familiar Master is Familiar Conduit, in which you spend an action to then cast a ranged spell right afterwards that, as long as you have line of effect to your familiar, allows you to cast that spell as if it were coming from the familiar. The potential for an offensive scouting familiar and using your familiar for shooting around corners and extending spell range is pretty useful, though because of the high investiture of actions required I wouldn't do it very often, unless my familiar could find cover (which considering their Tiny size, is easier than my familiar master finding cover).

Anyone else have their order still pending? I live like an hour away from Paizo so I understand my orders are most likely shipped last but this is definitely the longest it's taken for an order to ship to me.

Anyone else have their order still pending? I live like an hour away from Paizo so I understand my orders are most likely shipped last but this is definitely the longest it's taken for an order to ship to me.

Still pending here as well, over in another thread they said they'll get all the orders shipped out by the 29th unless something happens.

Question for those holding the book.

Any General Feat or Skill Feat interaction with Lore skills?

Question for those holding the book.

Any General Feat or Skill Feat interaction with Lore skills?

Yes.

Armor Assist allows you to use Warfare Lore or Athletics to don armor more quickly.

Seasoned lets you use Alcohol Lore, Cooking Lore, or Crafting to get a bonus to Craft food and drink, including potions.

Battle Planner lets you use Warfare Lore to make a battle plan and roll Warfare Lore for initiative.

Also, I think some of the archetype and ancestry feats grant and interact with some of the lore skills, but I can't recall exactly which ones I am reminded of.

There might be more, but those are the ones I can find easily.

I have removed several off topic posts. A discussion about the differences between authorizations and charges is best had in its own thread. Lets keep this one on topic.

Please, lucky people who have the book already, share what the Hellspawn and Pitborn Tiefling lineages grant. Some of their level one ancestry feats if you're feeling generous?

Please, lucky people who have the book already, share what the Hellspawn and Pitborn Tiefling lineages grant. Some of their level one ancestry feats if you're feeling generous?

Hellspawn gets training in Deception and Legal Lore, and gets the Lie to Me skill feat. Pitborn get training in Athletics, and you get to choose any common 1st level Athletics feat as your Abyssal manifestation.

All three lineages at Level 9 get a feat to get innate 2nd-level spells. Pitborn get Pananoia and Shatter. Hellspawn get Invisibility and Misdirection.

Finally, if you picked at least 1 Tiefling lineage feat, you have access at Level 13 to be able to summon a Fiend of your same lineage. It's a 5th-level divine innate Summon Fiend spell. All innate spells are 1/day.

Other than those (and the Grimspawn Level 1 and 9 feats), there's just feats any Tiefling can take.

Vallarthis wrote:

Back on topic:

Does the Bastion archetype involve shield bashing as well, or is it all defensive?

It's all defensive. But the new shield in the APG, Exploding Shield, works well with the Bastion's Destructive Block. And the new shield is priced as a consumable too!

Yikes, that expensive, huh?

I dunno if it has been discussed but what do the improved familiars look like? I know imps, faerie dragons and spell slimes were introduced can someone post about one of them? Like do they get special abilities?

I dunno if it has been discussed but what do the improved familiars look like? I know imps, faerie dragons and spell slimes were introduced can someone post about one of them? Like do they get special abilities?

I have no idea what a spellslime is like, but from the name alone I want one. :)

I'm really disappointed in witches. I loved playing them in first edition, always focused on hexes. We joked how by tenth level my witch had cast an actual spell in combat a single time, because she always used hexes. The hexes in here aren't particularly flavorful, and I really dislike the focus point system. I avoid characters that track points like that like the plague. Oh well.

Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:

How is the art?

Consistently good!

Verzen wrote:

Do witches in PF2E get Eat People still? If not, I am protesting. ;)

Probably, but not for mechanical reasons! (I don't see any people-eating feats for the Witch class in this book.)

Spamotron wrote:

How much does the Marshal Archetype do its own thing versus cribbing from Bards?

Surprisingly, the Marshal is largely it's own thing. (I like this, since it makes it Bard multiclassing a distinctly different option.)

It gets a *ton* of feats (2 pages-worth) that provide a wide range of group-support abilities: grant bonuses to fear saves to nearby allies, use intimidation to increase the damage nearby allies do, use diplomacy to increase attack rolls and saves against mental effects for nearby allies, shout at allies to give them re-rolls on saves against mental effects, shout at allies to give them a short-term boost to temp HP and fort saves, allow nearby allies to get an extra action this turn in exchange for one less action next turn (though a follow up feat drops the "lose an action next turn" bit), attack in inspiring ways that grant allies temp HP, attack in inspiring ways that allow allies to stride toward the same target, make adjacent allies unflankable, use actions to allow allies to use a reaction to stride or strike, and use a reaction to trip or make a ranged attack when an ally hits a nearby target.

Lots of juicy support options here!

Gaulin wrote:

I heard there's a barbarian feat to rip up a chunk of earth and throw it. I need all of the details on this, so badly

I think you're thinking of Oversized Throw (4). It's a ranged attack with a 20' range increment, that you can make with any random thing that's around -- boulders, wagons, big chunks of earth, or whatever. The downside is it takes two actions. The upside is that it does pretty decent damage -- 1d10 initially, bumping up to 2d10/3d10 when you get weapon specialization/greater...

Just out of curiousity, how many actions do the Marshal commands take per turn? How long does each action last?

I'm really disappointed in witches. I loved playing them in first edition, always focused on hexes. We joked how by tenth level my witch had cast an actual spell in combat a single time, because she always used hexes. The hexes in here aren't particularly flavorful, and I really dislike the focus point system. I avoid characters that track points like that like the plague. Oh well.

There are actually two different types of hexes, the focus point ones granted by Witch Lessons that you are concerned about, and Hex Cantrips, which work just like other cantrips, but these are Witch-exclusive as they are granted by the Patron Theme you choose at 1st level, and are found in the Focus spell section of the book under the portion designated for Witches along with the Focus Hexes. Hex Cantrips and their associated Patron Themes are:

Clinging Ice (Winter Patron Theme)
Discern Secrets (Rune Patron Theme)
Evil Eye (Curse Patron Theme)
Nudge Fate (Fate Patron Theme)
Shroud of Night (Night Patron Theme)
Stoke the Heart (Fervor Patron Theme)
Wilding Word (Wild Patron Theme)

What about additional Skill Feat support for those that are pretty bare-bone in CRB, for example:

-Arcana
-Nature
-Occultism
-Religion

I dunno if it has been discussed but what do the improved familiars look like? I know imps, faerie dragons and spell slimes were introduced can someone post about one of them? Like do they get special abilities?

The fairie dragon is a tiny, flying, talking dragon, and you want more? How about a once an hour breathe weapon of stupifying gas?

An imp has what you'd expect - is a good at lying and resists fire and poison. And can turn invisible as well as offer infernal pacts (get a reroll in the next hour - but if you die in that hour, soul goes to hell!). Be aware, unless you've went for the Familiar Master archetype, it's gonna be pretty hard to get his guy.

Spellslimes, despite the name, cast no spells, instead coming from spellcasting residue. But they've got more hit points, immune to criticals, heal when you refocus, and can sense magic nearby.

What about additional Skill Feat support for those that are pretty bare-bone in CRB, for example:

-Arcana
-Nature
-Occultism
-Religion

Arcana remains pretty bare, with no new skill feats.

Nature, however, gets 2. Religion gets 2, and Occultism scores a whopping 4 new skill feats!

Nature
Express Rider (1)
Influence Nature (7)

Religion
Pilgrims Token (1)
Extort the Faithful (2)

Occultism
Deceptive Worship (1)
Root Magic (1)
Schooled in Secrets (1)
Disturbing Knowledge (7)