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Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide

4.80/5 (based on 12 ratings)
Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide
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Ready to go beyond the basics? Expand the limits of what's possible with the Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide! This 272-page Pathfinder Second Edition rulebook contains exciting new rules options for player characters, adding even more depth of choice to your Pathfinder game! Inside you will find brand new ancestries, heritages, and four new classes: the shrewd investigator, the mysterious oracle, the daring swashbuckler, and the hex-slinging witch! The must-have Advanced Player's Guide also includes exciting new options for all your favorite Core Rulebook classes and tons of new backgrounds, general feats, spells, items, and 40 flexible archetypes to customize your play experience even further!

The Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide includes:

  • Four new classes: the investigator, oracle, swashbuckler, and witch!
  • Five new ancestries and five heritages for any ancestry: celestial aasimars, curious catfolk, hagspawned changelings, vampiric dhampirs, fate-touched duskwalkers, scaled kobolds, fierce orcs, fiendish tieflings, industrious ratfolk, and feathered tengu!
  • 40 new archetypes including multiclass archetypes for the four new classes, Pathfinder favorites like the cavalier, dragon disciple, shadowdancer, and vigilante, and brand-new archetypes like the familiar master and the shield-bearing iron wall!
  • New class options for all twelve classes from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook including champions of evil, genie and shadow sorcerers, zen archer monks, rogue masterminds, spellcasting rangers, and more!
  • Even more exciting new rules, from rare and unique backgrounds to investigative skill feats, from spells and rituals like reincarnate and create demiplane to new items including special wands with unusual effects and exciting potions worthy of a witch's cauldron.

ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-257-0



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4.80/5 (based on 12 ratings)

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Player's Guide... but ADVANCED

5/5 —

It gave us four beloved classes (some being reworked as time of writing) with unique flavor and original mechanics, showing what insane feats (pun intended) the system is capable of reaching. Excellent resource for GMs and players alike.

Very good

5/5 —

Now more or less replaced by Player Core 1 and 2. Was very good though.

4/5 —

APG meets Expectations as it Concludes the Original Vision of PF2

5/5 —

The Advanced Player's Guide is the capstone piece to the original vision for Pathfinder Second Edition. The PF2 CRB was a whopping 640 pages and Paizo still had more content ready to go in it that they just could not release due to space issues. Everything that was left out was designated to be released over the next year in either the Lost Omens line of books or in the Advanced Players Guide. Things that were not quite fully fleshed out for the original release were then worked out. Four additional classes were put through a playtest and are featured in the APG; the Investigator, Oracle, Swashbuckler, and Witch. Five new ancestries are in the APG while three more were released in the Lost Omens Character Guide in 2019.

One of the new concepts in PF2 is that of Versatile Heritages. Instead of having separate ancestry categories for Aasimar, Tiefling, Changling, Dhampir, and Duskwalker, they are now what is called a versatile heritage. These modify the ancestry choice the player made for the character via the heritage selection. This is a very interesting concept as it provides many additional options for players. These five are just the first of multiple waves of versatile heritages which will be released over time by Paizo.

For those who have been desiring more options for characters, the APG delivers. The four new classes have their dedications for multiclassing along with 38 new archetypes. In addition, each of the 12 original classes gained some new options to choose from as did each of the original ancestries. Not all of the options are as viable as other options, but much of that will depend on the theme of a campaign and how GMs choose to allow players to select archetypes. I can envision some GMs designating some archetypes as free additional choices for players in that they can take one with no additional feat penalties because they give added depth to the campaign's theme such as the dandy or celebrity. Other GMs could emphasize select archetypes like the gladiator as a free archetype for their campaign's theme. The potential for some very interesting campaign themes definitely exists with these archetypes.

One of the things I was watching for in this book was the dreaded power creep. I do not see it present. None of the archetypes seems to overwhelm any of the original classes in terms of raw power while instead they augment them. This was a goal of Paizo from the beginning and it seems to have been met. The APG does what it was intended to do. It expands the options available to players at the initial creation of their characters and as those characters level up over time. Perhaps the best part of that is the APG continues to expand upon building characters as concepts and not as a collection of soulless numbers. While the numbers are important to determining how well a character can do something, the concept behind the character matters more. PF2 put the role back into roleplaying and the APG continues that vision.

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Can't-miss book for anyone at the table

5/5 —

Especially, and this is obvious, the Advanced Player's Guide is a terrific resource for players--but that doesn't mean GMs don't have a lot to gain from it!

Just on the strength of classes and ancestries, this book is about 150% the size of the core rulebook. Every existing class gets a major boost of options and feats and the same goes for existing ancestries. Adding in four new classes and five new ancestries on top of that is an amazing boon. True, some get more (or better) options than others, but I would say just on character creation alone, this book well beyond justifies its price point.

And that's just the base.

Add in universal heritages, which seem mechanically reasonable but almost unreasonably bursting with flavor, lore, or character development hooks. Add in the massive chunk of archetypes, which enables so many different nuances of character concepts without always landing on the somewhat clunky multiclassing rules. Add in a shot in the arm to spell lists, item lists, skill and general feat lists, and so on?

I just don't know that more needs to be said. This book is bursting with great content--and it's guaranteed to turn the heads of pretty much any player with at least a couple of its options!

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Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
theWasp wrote:
What are the limitations on the lineage trait? I assume you can only have one lineage feat. But do you have to take it at level 1 or can you do it later on?

"You can have only one lineage feat; you can select such a feat only at 1st level, and you can’t retrain into or out of this feat."

theWasp wrote:
What are the limitations on the lineage trait? I assume you can only have one lineage feat. But do you have to take it at level 1 or can you do it later on?

You can only have one Lineage, you have to pick it at Level 1, and you cannot retrain out of it.

1 person marked this as a favorite.

What time is the PDF usually dropped, and in what timezone? I live in Sweden, and I’d like to have a general idea of when I should start infinitely refreshing the page.
Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Garlicmaster wrote:
What time is the PDF usually dropped, and in what timezone? I live in Sweden, and I’d like to have a general idea of when I should start infinitely refreshing the page.

Well, Paizo is usually open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time (the west coast time zone in the US), Monday through Friday. But they worked through this past Saturday setting up shipments, and I have received PDFs in earlier months well after they officially closed.

Since they seem to be about nine hours behind you, checking for the PDF when you first get up in the morning would be the best time to check whether they got it out while you were asleep.
David knott 242 wrote:
Garlicmaster wrote:
What time is the PDF usually dropped, and in what timezone? I live in Sweden, and I’d like to have a general idea of when I should start infinitely refreshing the page.

Well, Paizo is usually open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time (the west coast time zone in the US), Monday through Friday. But they worked through this past Saturday setting up shipments, and I have received PDFs in earlier months well after they officially closed.

Since they seem to be about nine hours behind you, checking for the PDF when you first get up in the morning would be the best time to check whether they got it out while you were asleep.

Thank you! Now I know roughly when to look. :)

Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Ah, Wednesday morning, time to buy my PDF.

N....N...NANI????!!!!!!!
Gorbacz wrote:

Ah, Wednesday morning, time to buy my PDF.

N....N...NANI????!!!!!!!

It's a GenCon release, and that starts tomorrow

Silver Crusade
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Franz Lunzer wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:

Ah, Wednesday morning, time to buy my PDF.

N....N...NANI????!!!!!!!

It's a GenCon release, and that starts tomorrow

*draws the katana*

FUMEIYO ... YORI SHI!!!
Grand Lodge
David knott 242 wrote:


"You can have only one lineage feat; you can select such a feat only at 1st level, and you can’t retrain into or out of this feat."

Aww, so no dhampir darkvision and svetotcher. Thanks for the reply though (and Ezikieru too).

theWasp wrote:
David knott 242 wrote:


"You can have only one lineage feat; you can select such a feat only at 1st level, and you can’t retrain into or out of this feat."
Aww, so no dhampir darkvision and svetotcher. Thanks for the reply though (and Ezikieru too).

You can if your starting ancestry starts with low-light vision (since the vision gets upgraded). Or just darkvision, I guess.

You can also ask your GM to play with the optional Ancestry Paragon rules in the GMG, too.

So I have a player very curious about the Oracle and she's trying to put together a chaos/wild magic style character and I don't think they've added it, but I just wanted a confirmation that 'chaos' or 'wild' magic might be possible with the APG content?

Still no shipping and no PDF, and it's a day before release day. I can't request a cancellation at this point, because of the delay in customer service.

Pretty upset right now.
Liberty's Edge
7 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Shipping will continue until the 31st, according to Customer Service shipping thread.
Getting it before street date as a subscriber is not guaranteed, nor promised, and this is not the first time a huge month has slipped past the street date, nor will it be the last, no matter how hard the CS and warehouse teams try to make it so. I haven’t received mine either, so I’m in a similar boat, but I’m not sure why so many people are getting so upset about a tiny delay.
3 people marked this as a favorite.
DJGaia72 wrote:
So I have a player very curious about the Oracle and she's trying to put together a chaos/wild magic style character and I don't think they've added it, but I just wanted a confirmation that 'chaos' or 'wild' magic might be possible with the APG content?

Not with those names, no. The 8 Mysteries we got is Ancestors, Battle, Bones, Cosmos, Flames, Life, Lore, and Tempest. If they wanted a "chaotic" playstyle, have them go for Ancestors. If they wanted something more otherworldly, Cosmos is a nice theme.

Sczarni
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
DJGaia72 wrote:
So I have a player very curious about the Oracle and she's trying to put together a chaos/wild magic style character and I don't think they've added it, but I just wanted a confirmation that 'chaos' or 'wild' magic might be possible with the APG content?

Something similar will probably occur in the Ultimate Magic series if they print it.

Ezekieru wrote:
DJGaia72 wrote:
So I have a player very curious about the Oracle and she's trying to put together a chaos/wild magic style character and I don't think they've added it, but I just wanted a confirmation that 'chaos' or 'wild' magic might be possible with the APG content?
Not with those names, no. The 8 Mysteries we got is Ancestors, Battle, Bones, Cosmos, Flames, Life, Lore, and Tempest. If they wanted a "chaotic" playstyle, have them go for Ancestors. If they wanted something more otherworldly, Cosmos is a nice theme.

Ah! Ok, thank you very much. That should assist with getting something, but I might have to work some of my own designs in to make it work how she had planned. I appreciate it sweetie. ^^

Never lucky. My card declined subscription transaction and even though I resolved it and paid, my order is still pending :(

When will the pdf be avaiable to buy/download?

So... my timezones are all messed up. When does this come out?
living wrote:

When will the pdf be avaiable to buy/download?

Tomorrow, probably midday for America (Pacific timezone).

Ezekieru wrote:
living wrote:

When will the pdf be avaiable to buy/download?

Tomorrow, probably midday for America (Pacific timezone).

Okay, I'll assume... like, twenty-ish hours?

Liberty's Edge
Long John wrote:
Ezekieru wrote:
living wrote:

When will the pdf be avaiable to buy/download?

Tomorrow, probably midday for America (Pacific timezone).
Okay, I'll assume... like, twenty-ish hours?

Noon Pacific time is roughly 23 hours from now.

Silver Crusade
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Archives of Nethys just announced that GenCon stuff (APG, SF:SOM and more) will be added at a minute past midnight PDT.

Which for you, dear Yurpeens, means 9:00 (AM) CEST.
Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

I've been wanting since PF1 to build Hosteen Storm, Beastmaster (from the novel of the same name and its sequels, by Andre Norton). Alas, still no joy. Storm has a team of four (later five) animal companions -- an eagle, a big cat, two meerkats, and an Appaloosa stallion -- but he is not limited to having only one "active" at a time.

Ah, well, waiting is...
Verdant Wheel
Gorbacz wrote:

Archives of Nethys just announced that GenCon stuff (APG, SF:SOM and more) will be added at a minute past midnight PDT.

Which for you, dear Yurpeens, means 9:00 (AM) CEST.

If you absolutely can't wait, cross-posting this thread here...

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Ed Reppert wrote:

I've been wanting since PF1 to build Hosteen Storm, Beastmaster (from the novel of the same name and its sequels, by Andre Norton). Alas, still no joy. Storm has a team of four (later five) animal companions -- an eagle, a big cat, two meerkats, and an Appaloosa stallion -- but he is not limited to having only one "active" at a time.

Ah, well, waiting is...

Is it just him and his animals as the protagonists? Because that sounds like an adventuring party, rather than a single adventurer. Maybe see how persuasive you can get with convincing your fellow players to try out some homebrewed ancestries. :)

5 people marked this as a favorite.

A big thanks to everyone who has helped out with previews on this thread, you've kept me from suffering an anticipation-induced aneurysm.
Design Manager
20 people marked this as a favorite.

I also would like to thank all the preview folks for avoiding explicit copy/paste and going for answering questions and paraphrasing instead. Thanks for helping to spread your excitement to the community, and I'm sure lots of people who didn't have the book really appreciated!

so available "Today" but not yet today? :(
Mark Seifter wrote:
I also would like to thank all the preview folks for avoiding explicit copy/paste and going for answering questions and paraphrasing instead. Thanks for helping to spread your excitement to the community, and I'm sure lots of people who didn't have the book really appreciated!

Available today, but not yet today? Can you give an indication of exactly how many painful, agonising, heart-breaking hours I must wait before I can give you my money?

They are usually available in about 6 hours from now for me.

In the post's of paizo say that need to wait 41 minuts ;( to short but too long
Telemnar wrote:
so available "Today" but not yet today? :(

I'm in the same time zone as Paizo (Pacific Time), and the page still reads 'tomorrow' for me. It will be tomorrow here in about 3 hours and 40 minutes.

I love my PF1 slayer, such a fun hybrid class that cherry picks cool stuff from half a dozen other classes. If you're unfamiliar, it's a sort of rogue-assassin-ranger-ninja with options that allow massive archery buffs and melee glass cannon. Mine is a sylph and I love her.

I hope the slayer gets revived and refreshed in PF2.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

It says the PDF is available today but I can’t figure out how to buy it. I bought the physical copy but I don’t really expect to see it for a month and I’d like to see the APG content now so I also want the PDF. I’m not sure how to add it to the cart but it says it’s available.
Dargath wrote:
It says the PDF is available today but I can’t figure out how to buy it. I bought the physical copy but I don’t really expect to see it for a month and I’d like to see the APG content now so I also want the PDF. I’m not sure how to add it to the cart but it says it’s available.

Just 15 more minutes for PDF to be realesed.

It's becouse if time zones being weird.
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

The Paizo store page uses your computer's time zone to calculate the time (i.e. I'm in JST) so it shows that it's available 'today' because it's the right day for it but it's not available to purchase as it's still 'yesterday' at the PDT that Paizo is in.
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Anyone else got the PDF shifting between unavailable and available today?
MiraculousWaterBottle wrote:
Anyone else got the PDF shifting between unavailable and available today?

I had similar issues. It took me a few tries, but eventually I made it through the entire purchase process. Downloaded and ready to read!

It shifted on me as I was purchasing. Ended up holding my money but not giving me the pdf. I wish they'd fix their issues. *sigh*
4 people marked this as a favorite.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT DUAL-WEAPON RELOAD

PICAROONS ARE FINALLY (going to be) VIABLE!!!

As soon as guns and Kitsune are added, Lady Vulpina will rise again :D
Silver Crusade
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Squawk! is the best feat, ever.
Dark Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

It's fun to recognize old "friends" besides the ex-iconics and ex-developer-pcs :D Such as the assassin, dragon disciple, eldritch archer, horizon walker, loremaster and shadow dancer
Gorbacz wrote:
Squawk! is the best feat, ever.

Linkifyed

Dark Archive
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I'm having a real hard decisions here :'D Do I make tiefling leshy demonic sorcerer or tengu first? I currently have 175 acp(assuming paizo has counted regional support events correctly...) so I can't afford both yet, but I really like tengus, but I want to make use of finandar leshy background...

...And for all I know they will release more unlockable backgrounds in future even if chronicles themselves don't unlock boons :'D So yeah I don't know which to pick! xD

Great book!

Thumbs up to the two pieces of artwork of the Viking - Weapon Improviser double page. They are perfect together. XD

IT’Z BEEN ZOGGIN RELEASED, EVRYWUN GET IN ‘ERE

Are they going to release an updated character sheet pack with the new stuff?
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
DJGaia72 wrote:
Are they going to release an updated character sheet pack with the new stuff?

I think this is what you are looking for.

It is sad, I just got the PDF, but I am still waiting for my hard copy I ordered back in January.
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