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I'm kinda shocked at the disinterest/negativity towards an equipment book. I'm very happy to hear about it, my players are happy to hear about it, Reddit on the whole seems very into it. Things like the crafting variants and the Alchemy Unleashed section on description alone have two of my players incredibly antsy for this book.
Maybe as I'm a GM who is aiming to move away from my overreliance on Nethys, a book of loot, runes, alchemy, and so on sounds wildly handy at my table.
I love the look and ideas in Impossible Lands, but I expect that it will fare like the Mwangi Expanse for me... Excellent book full of excellent stuff that never brushes up against my campaigns at all.
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Big books of equipment have never been interesting to me. Sayre is awesome, so I'm hopeful it'll be neat anyway, but gear is the part of my characters I'm generally least interested in from a hype perspective.
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I hope there'll be some companion/familiar/eidolon items. I think there's both design space and some need for items in this direction.
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I am extremely pleased to hear about the Treasury since the system as a whole has been sorely lacking a pretty fair number of things to date with a TON of the books published so far focusing far more on set dressing, flavor, and lore versus actually putting things out that can.... you know, be used by players during a game rather than working to write interesting fiction about the world they play in. Don't get me wrong, flavor and lore is welcome but I'd be lying if I told you I was happy with the crunch to flavor balance for the system as a whole so I'm very pleased to know that this is being released, especially since the Travel Guide is being dropped for PF2 which, if I understand it correctly, is going to have almost nothing in it that actually adds crunch to the game whatsoever.
So far, the general laundry list of things that have been alluded to but simply don't exist yet:
Ancestral Weapon options for something like a half dozen Ancestries.
It lacks any functional low-level tattoos.
Dozens of Weapons and types of mundane Armor that were in PF1 are absent such as the Earthbreaker which is confirmed to be making an appearance.
General-purpose adventuring gear isn't exactly in a BAD spot right now but the variety is pretty sorely lacking compared to where things were for PF1 even while that system was only a year old.
I'm extremely surprised and pleased to hear that there is going to be a whole ton of new Alchemical Items since, from my perspective, PF2 has already done a great job of having a decent variety of such equipment.
On top of that, I think another area where they can really pad things is the Talisman and Spellheart selection given that these things are supposed to be low-cost bolt-on consumables that seem to have been intended as "filler" treasure that can be tossed into encounter budgets to help fill out the gold left over after the 1 or perhaps 2 permanent Magical pieces of loot that are required to keep a party sufficiently geared up. Ideally, with the intent of these being what they are I believe that having at LEAST 5-10 different kinds of Talismans and Spellhearts per Item Level is the bare minimum given how diverse roles and specializations are and how lots of the current options essentially lock 950 of PCs out of actually using them due to their stringent prerequisites.
There's a bunch of gear adjacent things I have been wanting (martial crossbows, a bow with the monk trait, the dorn-dergar, etc.) so I'm happy if the treasure book is full of things I want to see.
That being said from the perspective of "sitting down to read the thing" lists of gear (or spells) is probably the least pleasant thing you could put in a book. Hopefully they'll find a way to make it interesting.
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I am extremely pleased to hear about the Treasury since the system as a whole has been sorely lacking a pretty fair number of things to date with a TON of the books published so far focusing far more on set dressing, flavor, and lore versus actually putting things out that can.... you know, be used by players during a game rather than working to write interesting fiction about the world they play in.
Its more an issue with you that you cant think lore cant be used by players.
I still think the Inside Paizo Playtest is a weird seminar since there isn't a playtest announced right now. My guess is they are actually announcing a playtest during it. On top of the fact that Erik mentioned there would be more announcements during the weekend.
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I still think the Inside Paizo Playtest is a weird seminar since there isn't a playtest announced right now. My guess is they are actually announcing a playtest during it. On top of the fact that Erik mentioned there would be more announcements during the weekend.
I’m not so sure. I’m expecting it to be about how they incorporated the Dark Archive playtest feedback, with some more details on how those two classes actually changed.
Would love to be wrong! But I’m skeptical.
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So I missed the Secrets of Golarion panel yesterday, but I'm reading a write up for it; and I just want to say: Eleanor has said "stay tuned/please hold" in reference to a Tian-Xia region book TWICE during this PaizoCon (once in the SoG panel and once in the SoG Discord). If we get a Tian-Xia announcement here or at GenCon, I will literally cry in Tien. T.T
Hazukashi...
EDIT : I so love random time-travelling.
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So I missed the Secrets of Golarion panel yesterday, but I'm reading a write up for it; and I just want to say: Eleanor has said "stay tuned/please hold" in reference to a Tian-Xia region book TWICE during this PaizoCon (once in the SoG panel and once in the SoG Discord). If we get a Tian-Xia announcement here or at GenCon, I will literally cry in Tien. T.T
EDIT: Raven Magic!! :o
There was not, in fact, a secret playtest announcement in the playtesting panel.
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*marks X on my PaizoCon bingo card*
That said, I did really enjoy the insight into the playtesting process. Was a very interesting panel.
I guess there's the final q & a that might tease stuff to come. All I'm really hankering for is a peek at the psychic changes but that might be held onto to hype dark archive in july
I guess there's the final q & a that might tease stuff to come. All I'm really hankering for is a peek at the psychic changes but that might be held onto to hype dark archive in july
Are you on the discord? There’s been a bunch of Psychic info shared there.
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There was not, in fact, a secret playtest announcement in the playtesting panel.
Logan posted a picture of a magic 8 ball reading "Signs point to yes!" when asked if there was going to be a playtest this year. Didn't specifically say if it was PF or SF or if it was a playtest that already ran but.....it may be something at least.
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There was not, in fact, a secret playtest announcement in the playtesting panel.Logan posted a picture of a magic 8 ball reading "Signs point to yes!" when asked if there was going to be a playtest this year. Didn't specifically say if it was PF or SF or if it was a playtest that already ran but.....it may be something at least.
I took that to mean we should wait for GenCon.
Some of the dark archive stuff looks cool, but Psychics just using regular focus point mechanics now and Thaumaturges losing pacts (and some other general issues about them being unaddressed) is a bit of a bummer.
I guess there's the final q & a that might tease stuff to come. All I'm really hankering for is a peek at the psychic changes but that might be held onto to hype dark archive in julyAre you on the discord? There’s been a bunch of Psychic info shared there.
Gahhhhh
I guess there's the final q & a that might tease stuff to come. All I'm really hankering for is a peek at the psychic changes but that might be held onto to hype dark archive in julyAre you on the discord? There’s been a bunch of Psychic info shared there.
Dish!!!
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For anyone who is unable to see the spoilers being said on Discord this weekend, I'm noting down any of them in my Google doc, linked HERE.
I'll be updating it all weekend!
The last bit of the doc is complete! For those without access to Discord, please check this out! I hope it'll answer a bunch of questions and get you hyped!
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Oooo. James Jacobs having a sneaky plot to maybe make Serpentfolk playable in the future will certainly be interesting to see come to fruition. Although, I feel someone else may take issue with that? Lol.
All in all, very pleasant PaizoCon. I want to wish each and every member of the Paizo team and huge thank you for all that you do!
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Oooo. James Jacobs having a sneaky plot to maybe make Serpentfolk playable in the future will certainly be interesting to see come to fruition. Although, I feel someone else may take issue with that? Lol.
All in all, very pleasant PaizoCon. I want to wish each and every member of the Paizo team and huge thank you for all that you do!
JJ’s mostly been opposed to playable Serpentfolk in the past - this is a pretty pleasant surprise!
The last bit of the doc is complete! For those without access to Discord, please check this out! I hope it'll answer a bunch of questions and get you hyped!For anyone who is unable to see the spoilers being said on Discord this weekend, I'm noting down any of them in my Google doc, linked HERE.
I'll be updating it all weekend!
Thank you kindly
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Some of the dark archive stuff looks cool, but Psychics just using regular focus point mechanics now and Thaumaturges losing pacts (and some other general issues about them being unaddressed) is a bit of a bummer.
Looks like psychics will get focus spell level amps. Buffs and feat based spell like abilities to use while psyches are unleashed seem like they'll bridge the gap of that missing third slot. I'm honestly satisfied with that. I can wait for a kineticist for always on blasting. This seems like it'll do something different but still very cool
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So, no playtest announced, although, and of course this is pure speculation on my part because he is very subtle and skilled at the art of subterfuge and concealment, I think Jason's comments and body language might that we hear something about a new playtest at Gencon.
(the joke here is that he was very direct and made a wry joke about how subtle he is, its all but officially announced that we're hearing something about it at Gencon)
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Some of the dark archive stuff looks cool, but Psychics just using regular focus point mechanics now and Thaumaturges losing pacts (and some other general issues about them being unaddressed) is a bit of a bummer.Looks like psychics will get focus spell level amps. Buffs and feat based spell like abilities to use while psyches are unleashed seem like they'll bridge the gap of that missing third slot. I'm honestly satisfied with that. I can wait for a kineticist for always on blasting. This seems like it'll do something different but still very cool
Between the variety in Subconscious and Conscious Minds and how the playstyle of the class overall seems to have shaped up, the Psychic has really gone above and beyond. I’m desperate to have the final thing in my hands, but it sounds like it’s my favorite post-Core class, mechanically.
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JJ’s mostly been opposed to playable Serpentfolk in the past - this is a pretty pleasant surprise!Oooo. James Jacobs having a sneaky plot to maybe make Serpentfolk playable in the future will certainly be interesting to see come to fruition. Although, I feel someone else may take issue with that? Lol.
All in all, very pleasant PaizoCon. I want to wish each and every member of the Paizo team and huge thank you for all that you do!
Oh wow.
The quote for those at home:
— Today at 5:06 PM
I think that a Darklands book would be a great place to explore some new ancestries for sure!
Folks have long asked for a serpentfolk ancestry, for example. I've got a pretty extensive method by which we could introduce that while preserving the role of serpentfolk as one of the primary villain groups in the Darklands mostly worked out in my head, but as with Numeria, it's about timing and resources
That is a fairly big shift away from his previous stance, while at the same time not wholly contradicting it. I can't wait to see what comes of that, if anything.
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I am extremely pleased to hear about the Treasury since the system as a whole has been sorely lacking a pretty fair number of things to date with a TON of the books published so far focusing far more on set dressing, flavor, and lore versus actually putting things out that can.... you know, be used by players during a game rather than working to write interesting fiction about the world they play in.Its more an issue with you that you cant think lore cant be used by players.
Let's phrase it a bit differently; the books thus far have given interesting things to build new characters around, but have been pretty limited as far as interesting options for characters that already exist. The builds that existed in the core rule book have largely not gotten anything new to tinker with since then; magic items in Treasure Vault are much more likely to be something you might want to pursue on a character that you were already playing prior to the book's release compared to say, all the new firearms in Guns & Gears that you'd only be interested in if you are building a gunslinger.
I've suggested this before, but the way I'd likely handle playable Sekmin is sort of opposite how D&D handles playable Yuan-Ti. I shall explain.
Both are broken into a caste system, which are equitable to one another. The Zyss Serpentfolk folk are the Yuan-Ti Purebloods, with both possessing more advanced abilities and intellect. Key difference is the Yuan-Ti Purebloods are almost indistinguishable from Humans.
Then there are the Aapoph Serpentfolk, which are likely comparable to Yuan-Ti Halfbloods. They still appear mostly similar to the Zyss, but their lack of mental prowess, enhanced physical prowess, and potential to be born with mutations make them similar to Halfbloods, I feel.
Now the Serpentfolk only have these two castes; however, it has been noted that there are "Reborn Serpentfolk" that exist. These individuals were once Zyss Serpentfolk who underwent a special ritual/procedure, which resulted in them irrevocably taking on Human appearance, so that they may infiltrate Human society to further their plans. While outwardly Human, internally and mentally they are unquestionably Serpentfolk. These individuals could be treated something akin to the Yuan-Ti Abominations. Maybe, over time, some of them have forgotten or abadoned their nature through their integration into Human society. Maybe there is a way to subject their spawn to the same procedures, leaving young who are largely detached from their kins evil ways.
Tl;DR: D&D let's you play a Yuan-Ti Pureblood, I suggest allowing players to play what would essentially equate to be a Sekmin Abomination; but they look like Humans and possess Serpentfolk physiology and abilities.
Biggest challenge I think would be to distinguish then from Nagaji and Vishkanya at that point. But I'm sure James has a much better idea than what I've suggested, so I'm sure they'd be very interesting; if we ever get them.
They could have Serpentfolk as a Rare ancestry (it definitely should be regardless), with an Access entry of “you have an evil alignment” or something along those lines. That would preserve James’ stance of serpentfolk being villains in the canon of Golarian while still letting GMs ignore that if they don’t particularly care about that sort of thing. Though he did say “extensive,” so it’s probably a bit more complicated than that :P
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I strenuously dislike the idea of having top level choices like ancestry and class be alignment gated. All PCs are iconoclasts, so even if every member of your species has been evil since time immemorial, people are going to want to play the Good one.
I mean, I think James was and is going to stay pretty adamant about the core of Sekmin society remaining antagonist. And the fact that he said he has some extensive ideas implies it is definitely more complex than "here's Zyss/Aapoph Serpentfolk, however...". Hence why I suggested the "Reborn Serpentfolk", which has existing lore preface.
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I think making a playable ancestry be gated by alignment would go against alot of the hard work and deliberate choices to explicitly decouple alignment from ancestries.
If I recall, and I would hate to play telephone with what someone else said. The issue with Serpentfolk isn't that they are innately evil but that they has previously be considered to be strong choices for antagonist because there was still a mystery and danger to them, making them an ancestry would remove some of that by making them more fmaililar. It was never about innate evilness, but rather what role they were intended to play in the narrative. I think at some point it was mentioned we may see neutral or even a good npc of a serpentfolk but that still wouldn't mean playable serpentfolk ancestry is coming because you can still have 1 npc but still keep that distance.
Now like I said, I might be remembering wrong and opinions or ideas might have changed, or we may finally see a big serpentfolk narrative come out in the coming years.
Regardless of all that, I don't see an evil access requirement coming for any ancestry.
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It would be funny to me if they put the unique tag on the playable serpentfolk ancestry. Like "there's exactly one of these, feel free to let someone at your table be them" (a GM is always free to ignore or change written rules if they want 4 of them).
It's not like there's not precedence for this sort of thing in the TTRPG industry. 13th Age had a class that was unique, as in there's exactly one of these in all of the universe and it can be you.
Sure, you couldn't use it in organized play but I don't think they're going to let you play a Serpentfolk in organized play anyway. You couldn't play an Astomoi or a Cecaelia in PFS in the last edition either. The really outré stuff was always for home games.
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I think making a playable ancestry be gated by alignment would go against alot of the hard work and deliberate choices to explicitly decouple alignment from ancestries.
If I recall, and I would hate to play telephone with what someone else said. The issue with Serpentfolk isn't that they are innately evil but that they has previously be considered to be strong choices for antagonist because there was still a mystery and danger to them, making them an ancestry would remove some of that by making them more fmaililar. It was never about innate evilness, but rather what role they were intended to play in the narrative. I think at some point it was mentioned we may see neutral or even a good npc of a serpentfolk but that still wouldn't mean playable serpentfolk ancestry is coming because you can still have 1 npc but still keep that distance.
Now like I said, I might be remembering wrong and opinions or ideas might have changed, or we may finally see a big serpentfolk narrative come out in the coming years.
Regardless of all that, I don't see an evil access requirement coming for any ancestry.
One of Old Man Jatembe's Magic Warriors was a Serpentfolk.
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It would be funny to me if they put the unique tag on the playable serpentfolk ancestry. Like "there's exactly one of these, feel free to let someone at your table be them" (a GM is always free to ignore or change written rules if they want 4 of them).
One of Old Man Jatembe's Magic Warriors was a Serpentfolk.
Well, there you go. There was one, he's surely dead by now, the slot's been taken. Sorry, everybody.
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Perhaps the sole heroic serpentfolk is just regularly reincarnated over and over again until they fulfill their destiny and break the cycle of rebirth.
Some cycles the other serpentfolk catch them early on and strangle them in their snake-crib, but other times they go on to be a hero!
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Ah yes The Magic Warriors. I knew there were examples but I was at the doctor office and i couldn't remember where at the time.
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The Magic Warriors...Is that about SoT?
They’re seen as the founders of the Magaambya, alongside Jatembe, but that lore predates SoT as an adventure path.
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The Magic Warriors...Is that about SoT?
Most recently mentioned in LO: Legends.
I remember there was a mention of some coil serpent spy Serpentfolk reincarnating into human (or other core races) to better spy on them. I always kind of enjoyed the idea of one liking the experience enough to become more tolerant after turning back into a serpentfolk.