Here is the Pathfinder RPG Beta preview from the blog: http://paizo.com/paizo/blog
Pathfinder RPG Beta Preview #2
Friday, July 18, 2008The Beta Playtest Edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is off to the printer and is due to be released in mid August. In anticipation, we are previewing some of the changes made from the Alpha stage as well as taking a look at some of the brand new content. In this preview, we are taking a look at some of the changes between the Alpha release 3 and the Beta Playtest Edition.
Class Changes: A number of classes received a host of tweaks and changes based off playtester feedback. Here is just a taste of what you can expect to find. Barbarian mighty rage got a little bit cheaper to maintain (going from 4 points per round to 3). Cleric domains and wizard schools now grant bonus spells instead of spell-like abilities (although they maintain their supernatural abilities). Bardic performance DCs are now based off the bard's level, not his Perform skill check. Rangers now grant their favored enemy bonus to their animal companion, if they have one. Sorcerer bloodlines got a few refinements, such as Intimidate being changed to Knowledge (planes) for Abyssal sorcerers.
Combat Feats: Combat feats, as you might know them from Alpha release 3, are a thing of the past. Now the term refers to any feat that can be selected as a fighter bonus feat. Of course, most of the great combat feats have been retooled to fit with this change. Some feats even got an upgrade, such as Dodge (whose bonus now increases to +2 if you have 10 or more ranks in Acrobatics) and Arcane Strike (whose bonus increases by +1 for every five caster levels you possess).
Spells: Wizard arcane schools got revised for the Beta. The big change here is that wizards now choose the spells that they gain upon reaching 2nd, 4th, 6th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 18th levels. These spells must be from their school and are set once selected. It should be noted again that these spells now act as bonus spells, not spell-like abilities. This change does not affect the supernatural abilities granted by arcane schools.
Other Rules: There are dozens of other small changes to the rules as well. Favored Classes now grant a bonus hit point or a bonus skill point. Recharging staves now only uses up the highest-level spell slot used by the staff. Cover rules were simplified into something that is quite a bit easier to adjust. Nearly every chapter received numerous changes based off your feedback and comments.
You will be able to grab the Beta Playtest Edition as a free PDF here at paizo.com or as a soft-cover, 408 page, full-color book. The book will be on sale at Gen Con, through our web store, and from you favorite local game store. Check back next week for a look at some of the new rules you'll find in the Beta.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Yes? And?
It was probably for those of us who are too lazy to actually go and check the blog, or cannot find it for the life of them. Although, I have no idea who that could be, certainly not me! <.< >.>
Combat Feats: Combat feats, as you might know them from Alpha release 3, are a thing of the past. Now the term refers to any feat that can be selected as a fighter bonus feat. Of course, most of the great combat feats have been retooled to fit with this change. Some feats even got an upgrade, such as Dodge (whose bonus now increases to +2 if you have 10 or more ranks in Acrobatics) and Arcane Strike (whose bonus increases by +1 for every five caster levels you possess).
So are these feats, now like fighter feats, in that a fighter chooses from among them for his bonus feats, but anyone could take them if they wanted to? What about feats that like weapon swap which you could only activate one at a time, but they did cool things..are they still there, just as fighter feats, or are they gone. I really liked how there was a selection of feats which everyone could take, and they allowed you to do something cool, but you had to choose which one to use in any given round...it kept rounds form becoming repetitive. If thats gone then I'll be a sad panda.
I don't see any mention of the addition of squirrel familiars, a key element that a majority of playtesters demanded.
Or druid steam pistols powered by heat metal spells.
Or druid steam pistols powered by heat metal spells.I don't see any mention of the addition of squirrel familiars, a key element that a majority of playtesters demanded.
Also, where is the new race? I know there is a lot of demand for Panda men but by the time the game is released everyone will have forgotten it. I think a new version of TMNT is coming out next year so they should have a turtle based race to get a jump on demand.
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Am I the only one who doesn't want to wait till mid August for this! For some reason I was really hoping this would be out by the beginning of August at least as a PDF.
Though I know the paizo staff doesn't control it, I still am dieing to get my hands on it!!!!
Although my printer is not looking forward to it's release. ;)
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Am I the only one who doesn't want to wait till mid August for this! For some reason I was really hoping this would be out by the beginning of August at least as a PDF.
Though I know the paizo staff doesn't control it, I still am dieing to get my hands on it!!!!
Although my printer is not looking forward to it's release. ;)
You're not the only one looking forward to it indeed! I wish it was out NOW!
That being said - my printer would not be looking forward to it either - thats why I went ahead and ordered the bad-boy! Thanks for my subscriptions, I got a nice discount, and it'll be in full-cover; i figured it's worth 25 bucks for that - since it will be my 'bible' for the next 12 months until the official product is released!
Robert
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So are these feats, now like fighter feats, in that a fighter chooses from among them for his bonus feats, but anyone could take them if they wanted to? What about feats that like weapon swap which you could only activate one at a time, but they did cool things..are they still there, just as fighter feats, or are they gone. I really liked how there was a selection of feats which everyone could take, and they allowed you to do something cool, but you had to choose which one to use in any given round...it kept rounds form becoming repetitive. If thats gone then I'll be a sad panda.
From what has been the buzz on here from the designers - the "combat feats" are just regular feats now. Fighters can CHOOSE Them as their bonus feats at even levels. That is the basis for the designating category of those feats.
The art of activating only one feat a round - as the alpha did with "combat feats" - is gone away.
Now all feats worth the same way in theory - just some are designated as potential bonus feats to a fighter, and the rest are not.
Robert
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Bardic performance DCs are now based off the bard's level, not his Perform skill check.
So if you are a multi class bardic character you can't keep improving your perform school by allocating skill points to perform when adding a different class level?
Yes, and thats perfect!!! Its the way it should have always been.
NO other class has their primary function based solely on a skill that you have to allocate skill points too.
Hopefully Perform skill will add some functions and benefits to those who OPT to take it - but it shouldn't be a requirement.
Now the bardic abilities are based off of half-character level - just like SLAs and spells for all other classes.
Robert
Ummm... I'm fairly certain the Beta Preview Blog meant that the *SAVE* DC's against a Bard's Fascinate and other offensive songs, that were based on a Perform Check to set the DC, are now set by the Bard's level.
This has nothing to do with *actual* Perform checks to entertain or whatnot.
edit: Ah, yes, like Majuba said, the normal function of Performance was never altered by Pathfinder. The only changes are about how the Pathfinder Bard's new special class features were "Saved" against. Since skill ranks are relatively simple to get really high, the Bard SLAs could easily become nigh-impossible to beat for equivalent (or higher) level opponents. Really, though, if people would actually read the PDF and Blog Posts and be familiar before they post, it'd make for less ridiculous confusion on these boards.
Anyhow, looking forward to the Beta for sure...
What about spellcraft?
A sorcerer is not judged by arcane level, just skill point investment (or lack of...) getting a +3 bonus is nice.
Can't perform work the same way for a bard?
You can invest skill ranks in perform when you are multi classed, it just no longer affects the DC of the spells effects. This is the same as it is for all other classes.
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So you are saying that a multiclass bard who invests in the perform skill should get no benifit for doing so.
A non bard of the same level can invest in perform at every level and actually perform better than the multi-class bard.
Is that what you prefer?What am I not getting about this?
Investment of skill points should be benificial.
Why discriminate against multi-class characters?
A bards level still defines special ability limitations, including spell casting.
All i was saying, David, is that the skill shouldn't mandate the DCs of their class-features. Spells etc from other classes are not mandated by a skill - neither should the bard's.
I have nothing against the idea of a bard being able to perform well - just not use the skills to affect the targets saving throws.
Furthermore - on the flip side - i never liked the fact that bards were listed as getting 6 skill points per level - but really it was only 5 because one always had to be allocated to Perform if you wanted to be able to do the class features that the class offered. NO other class in the PHB has their primary (or even secondary) class features hamstrung by whether or not you put skill ranks into a skill.
The only thing that comes close is Rogue and search for traps - but even that eventually levels off - you can take 20 with it, and there's no minimum ranks you need in it before you can try it.
Others have already expressed what I meant quite eloquently - but I just wanted to speak for myself and clear up the confusion.
I think the rule change was needed - it was something I've lobbied for years for - as I thought it really held the bard back, and it makes it consistent now with the other classes - in that the DC for their spells and SLAs are determined by their level (or spellcasting level) not their ranks in a skill.
That all being said - I'm not sure what perform will be useful for anymore - hopefully the ranks will give certain conditional modifiers for things - but I have no problem with a multi-classed bard being able to "perform" (as the skill will be now) as a single-class bard. Now, however, the single-class bard will have access to better and higher-level abilities - since it'll be based off their class level now (as it should be.)
Robert
More preview information on the Pathfinder RPG Beta: http://paizo.com/paizo/blog
Pathfinder RPG Beta Preview #3
Thursday, July 24, 2008The Beta Playtest Edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is off to the printer and is due to be released in mid August. In anticipation, we are previewing some of the changes made from the Alpha stage as well as taking a look at some of the brand new content. In this preview, we are investigating some of the new rules that can be found in the Beta Playtest Edition.
Equipment: All of the basic equipment is here, plus a few new weapons to round out the list. The starknife is finally part of the Pathfinder RPG, meaning that clerics of Desna now have the correct weapon. Although this material is not strictly "new," some of it has been carefully tweaked to fit with other rule changes.
Traps: The system for creating traps has receive a significant overhaul. Although the end result is mostly the same, the formulas now allow for traps that go all the way up to CR 20. When building a trap using the Pathfinder RPG rules, the amount of damage and average number of targets is now more important, meaning that traps that hit the entire party, draining far more resources, are of a higher CR than traps that only target one character. A trap's CR can also increase dramatically if it lasts more than one round. Here are a few examples.
Swinging Axe Trap: CR 1
Type mechanical; Perception DC 20; Disable Device DC 20
Trigger location; Reset manual
Effect Atk +10 melee (1d8+1/x3); multiple targets (all targets in a 10-ft. line)Frost Fangs Trap: CR 7
Type mechanical; Perception DC 25; Disable Device DC 20
Trigger location; Duration 3 rounds; Reset none
Effect jets of freezing water (3d6 cold damage, DC 20 Reflex save for half damage); multiple targets (all targets in a 40-ft.-square chamber)Meteor Swarm Trap: CR 19
Type magic; Perception DC 34; Disable Device DC 34
Trigger sight (true seeing); Reset none
Effect spell effect (meteor swarm, 4 meteors at separate targets, +9 ranged touch, 2d6 plus 6d6 fire (no save on a hit), DC 23 Reflex save for half damage on a miss, 18d6 fire damage from other meteors (DC 23 Reflex save for half damage); multiple targets (four targets, no two of which can be more than 40 ft. apart)Spells and Magic Items: Both of these chapters have been expanded to a gigantic size (with the spells chapter alone coming in at 120 pages). While much of the content in these chapters is unchanged, a number of spells and items received some updates in the Beta, mostly to bring them in line with the rest of the rules. Due to space concerns, some of the spells and magic items were cut, but will be available in a free web enhancement for the book, due out at the same time the Beta Playtest Edition is released.
You will be able to grab the Beta Playtest Edition as a free PDF here at paizo.com or as a soft-cover, 408 page, full-color book. The book will be on sale at Gen Con, through our web store, and from your favorite local game store. Check back next week for a look at the Beta playtest process as well as what is in store for the next year of development.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer