Greetings! I’m a 35 years old D&D player. I’ve been mastering since 1987. Currently, I’m running a high level Birthright 3.5 campaign. I was quite disappointed by my favorite game’s fourth edition. So Pathfinder RPG is definitely my future.
I don’t really have a playtest report to submit, but I’ve been examinating how Pathfinder RPG deals with flaws I’ve encountered during my 3.5 campaign. Some of them you’ve brilliantly solved, but others, IMHO, still need to be fixed.
The guy who’s playing a warrior in my group complains about the lack of differentiation between weapons. Using a sword is pretty much the same as using a flail or an axe. You’ve introduced weapon training for warriors (beta, page 27)... I think you should also create combat feats that have warrior’s weapon training as a prerequisite. Axes, for example, do have a particular balancing. The superior momentum generated by an attack could result in the warrior moving after the weapon and balancing himself for another stroke. A sort of dance with something that tries to unbalance you. A staff could be used for a flying kick, a flail to choke an ennemy with the chain, a heavy mace attack could result in a free bull rush (see Shield Slam feat, p. 94) and so on. I think the warrior deserves more flavour and more power. He also needs to do more things that he alone can do. Giving him just a few more points in Armor Class and a to hit and damage bonus is not enough. There are characters that can fly or that can do amazing things when they’re in a rage out there. Poor warrior should do more.
A few spells need to be fixed too. It is certainly true, as you say (p. 194), that find the path sucks all the fan out of an adventure, but the same can be said about rope trick (I think it should be eliminated) and teleport spells (you could introduce an expensive component). A lot of interesting things might happen during nights and travels. There are also spells that desperately need a saving throw to at least partially avoid the effect: ray of enfeeblement (p. 260) and touch of idiocy (p. 283) alone can easily win a battle against an enemy, especially in combination with empower or maximize feats. Same story with power words (p. 256). It is not good to see a single powerful opponent wiped out without even a saving throw. Besides, the same could happen to player characters. And these are just a few examples. By the way… I saw that you did simplify some combat maneuvers. That’s a good thing. But against a group of adventurers a single foe would spend most of his time disarmed, pinned or tripped. Maybe you could introduce a feat that helps when figthing against superior numbers…
And now a few short suggestions:
- Half-Elf Adaptability (p.10): Skill Focus sounds more as a specialization rather than an adaptability.
- The effect of guarded stance, powerful blow, rolling dodge, strenght surge, surprise accuracy (p.14/15) should be limited. It’s better to double the barbarian levels needed for each bonus point. Great bonuses unbalance a fight destined to last just a few rounds. A 10th level barbarian, for example, could easily sustain a short skirmish with a +5 dodge bonus rage, and that would be too great an advantage.
- Clerics and wizards are scholars. Two skills points per level are not enough. Four is better (possibly two out of four should be spent in knowledge skills).
- Arcane Bond (p. 49). Bonding with a familiar is way more powerful than bonding with an object. You could give the object a few master class based abilities (alertness, empathic link, teleport to master…).
- Linguistics (p. 68). One more language per skill point? That’s really too much. I’d recommend one per two skill points.
That’s all for the moment. I’ll let you know in this thread if I have more suggestions.
Hope to have been of some help. Looking forward the final edition.
Welcome, Elrond!
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-Arcane Bond (p. 49). Bonding with a familiar is way more powerful than bonding with an object. You could give the object a few master class based abilities (alertness, empathic link, teleport to master…).
my wizard thinks otherwise... also he has done something akin to smart to be sure the GM doesn't steal the bonded item from him
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"Clerics and wizards are scholars. Two skills points per level are not enough. Four is better (possibly two out of four should be spent in knowledge skills)"
I agree completely on this one my dwarven beta cleric was forced to used his favored class bonus for an extra skill point to get knowledge religion