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I have great difficulty choosing things that stand out best: the whole book is a treasure trove of magical delights! It is positively dripping with feats, spells and archetypes/alt character rules. As a GM I see great potential for my players! The only chapter I that gives me pause is the Words of Power (Chapter 4) -- simply because it is too advanced/to complicated for my group. Having said that I will study it to see what I can do with the words of power in my next campaign.
As soon as I can get into a game as a player, I want to play a Magus! Very much suits the kind of PC I want to play: a disciplined, intelligent warrior with an arsenal of clever magic to back up his abilities and overwhelm the opposition with the unexpected. Might dip into 1 or 3 levels of Rogue for extra verve since getting to 20th is too far away to even consider IMHO. Been crafting a character back story in my head for a while now. I like the idea that as a class unto itself the Magus gains abilities that a fighter/wizard could never have. Very cool. I look forward to seeing what Ultimate Combat offers the martial side of the Magus...
Other highlights for me: rules for constructs, "rules" for binding outsiders (great stuff for GMs!), new familiars, and I gotta love those spellbooks! And I really appreciate the material that guides us on designing new spells -- I really needed that as a GM!
Great divine thumbs up to Paizo!
I think the new Druid Domains, Archetypes, and to a lesser extent Spells, are just AWESOME.
They really open new aspects, while simultaneously having appropriate restrictions.
They really feel like a balanced addition to the game, and make me consider using Druid for character concepts that I may have otherwise considered other classes for.
I found the Druid domains to be really...lacking. Which ones stood out to you? The only one that did to me was Wolf.
.... that I've got a copy with my name in it.
You wrote your name on the first page too?
The Scrollmaster didn't strike me as OP or even thematically silly- well, maybe a bit, because he gets a "sword scroll" and a "shield scroll". But the idea is that he's magiccing them up to do that.
My bigger problem is this:
1)- It make you desire scrolls with just one spell on them.
2)- A first level scroll costs 25gp per swing, and is consumed after your first swing. A second level scroll costs 75 gp per swing, you can swing it once and still read it, after that it is ruined on the second swing. A third level scroll costs 125 gp per swing, you can swing it twice without issue, and the third swing ruins it. In general, swinging offensively costs you ((spell level * 2) - 1) * 25 GP per swing, or [min caster level] * 25 GP per swing, and the final swing dooms the scroll. Now I don't expect you'll melee much, but really, what?Basically, it doesn't make much sense mechanically. Thematically it's ok. I would definitely let a player pick that. It also gets the Int bonus to scrolls, which is rather good.
Ok first your prices are wrong as someone else already posted.
And second, why in the name of everything that's right and good you don't repair your scrolls after the battle (assuming they weren't destroyed in it)?
Pretty much everything the alchemist got is pretty cool, there's some real fun stuff in there with that class.
Zero votes for Spell Specialization. . . hmm. . .
I vote for Spell Specialization (:
I found the Druid domains to be really...lacking. Which ones stood out to you? The only one that did to me was Wolf.I think the new Druid Domains, Archetypes, and to a lesser extent Spells, are just AWESOME.
They really open new aspects, while simultaneously having appropriate restrictions.
They really feel like a balanced addition to the game, and make me consider using Druid for character concepts that I may have otherwise considered other classes for.
Firstly, all the Archetypes are great...
well, Dragon/Saurian/Shark aren`t AMAZING, but they`re not bad either.Domain-wise, the only one I really think is borderline is Jungle, Cave and Mountain are OK. I think if you`re underwhelmed by the granted powers of Serpent, Monkey and Frog, it may be because they all gain Familiars, which is a huge boon, and thus the rest of the granted powers are lower powered (they have great domain spells, besides). Desert`s Heat Shimmer`s implementation seems wierd (it seems like it should be based around being in adjacent squares, not hitting in melee), but the rest are great IMHO.
Zero votes for Spell Specialization. . . hmm. . .
I vote for Spell Specialization (:
Spell Spec is ok... but Greater Spell Spec rocks.
Let's see... most of the pages with words on them. Honestly, I'm enamored with the new Oracle Mysteries, Witch Patrons, and Alchemist archetypes are buckets of fun too. I definitely will try the Magus and it's Hexcrafter archetype too. One of the few beefs I have is the lack of Ghoul Touch on the Magus spell list. An arcana fixes that though and he gets plenty of other fun spells too.
Druids did get some feat support for Wildshape and a few minor summoning boost feats, but it looks like the really nice Summon spell boosters are all Summon Monster, not SNA, which gives me a sad.
what summon boosts don't affect sna?
i've played a summoning druid and the biggest drawbacks were the casting time, duration, and number of creatures summoned ... how many times have i rolled a 1? gaaah. wasted higher slot spell.• i thought superior summoning was a feat long overdue, especially if you consider it in conjunction with a feat like spell perfection, from apg ... summoning 2 extra creatures changes 1-3 to 3-5 and 2-5 to 4-7 ... and if you already have augment summoning, +8 str/con makes it even better. even without spell perfection, one extra creature prevents you from ever wasting that higher-level spell slot ... no more 1s.
• the totemic archetypes provide a range of quick-cast summon spells
• spontaneous metamagic lets you cast more powerful spontanous summoning spells w/out taking several rounds to do it, especially for simple metamagic like reach spell or extend spell, which can greatly enhance a summon casting.
• the moonlight/starlight/sunlight summons feats seem equally applicable and useful to sm or sna, without adding anything extra for casting or spell slots, plus free light spell :)
• or summon a dire crocodile and enhance it with anthropomorphic animal for that extra reach. :)
i'd like to see a summoning equivalent to tenacious transmutations or a feat or class ability that lets you generally cast all summonings as standard actions. quicken spell is nice, especially now that it works with spontaneous spells, but it's expensive, slot-wise.
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The spellbooks are total treasure porn.
+1
As someone who spends a lot more time DMing than playing, I found my favorite parts of UM to be the spellbooks and the spellblights. Two things I can give my players, one which makes them happy, one that makes me happy. I only wish there was a spellblight that turned the afflicted wizard into a walking wand of wonder. Because that's always good for a laugh.
As a player, I liked a lot of the spells and the Rakshasa bloodline, both for its flavor, its awesome deception capacity, and its feat list (hello gish!). Oathbound paladins also rock, as I like anything that gives the paladin a broader palate of role-playing options.
And the Sanguinary wildblooded replacement power pretty much guarantees my next character will be a Dhampir Sorcerer (Undead/Sanguinary) so I can run around drinking the blood of my enemies. nom nom nom.
Words of Power. This is how Sorcerers were meant to be! besides that I really like Thanatopic and Threnodic Spell metas.
+1
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I loved so many things about it.
My current (read: today's) favorite is the Synthesist.
Currently running a LE summoner who's not bad in combat on his own (tries to utilize his longspear as often as possible), then when it looks like an upcoming battle is going to be brutal, he summons his eidolon to him: a devilish beast that wraps around him, flame licking from his bulging arms and claws, turning him into a melee monstrosity.
It's also what happens when you hit his Berserk button.