Quite like roles

[Fletch]

The book "Varisia - Birthplace of Legend" has a concept in it I've quite taken to: Roles. These are culture-based template-y things which direct a player toward a number of feats or archetypes to flavor his character to match Varisian-inspired concepts like Shoanti Thundercallers or Korvosan Black Sable Marines.

This is the first book I've encountered these in, but my Pathfinder library is pretty small. Are there any other books this concept has been used in?

[Adam Daigle]

Roles are something new that was introduced for the Player Companion books.

[Fletch]

So are there more roles in previous books like Cheliax or gnomes of Golarion, or is this new in Varisia and moving forward?

[Adam Daigle]

Yep, they were a new introduction when the line was relaunched and went monthly, so it started with the Varisia Player Companion. I can't be 100% sure if all of the books since then have roles in them, but I know many do.

[Lloyd Jackson]

Lady's Light has a role for Grey Maidens. Pretty cool.

[Adam Luchjenbroers]

I'm usually loathe to make "me too" posts, but I also quite like the roles concept. It provides enough guidance to be useful while still allowing room for each character to keep their individuality.

Brilliant idea, guys :).

[Mechalibur]

Definitely not a fan of them here. It thankfully doesn't take anything away, but I feel the space would be much better used further exploring areas/themes of Golarion, or providing more gameplay options, which are scarce in these companions.

Explaining what types of roles are present in a culture could probably be done with a sentence or two, but I'd prefer more options to embody the roles rather than a template providing gameplay suggestions.

[ElyasRavenwood]

I agree with Mechalibur here.

[Tsukiyomi]

I personally love them. To me it's like lego sets, you can get a big bin of legos and make whatever you want(setting content and rules), or you can follow the set instructions(roles). Either way you still have a great deal of freedom and the roles don't seem to be no-brainers. Like in blood of night the roles it suggests for Jaing-shi is a stargazer oracle, not something that's clear cut or obvious. This also give a more clear connection between mechanics and lore. Now if they were roles like in DnD 4e I think we'd have a different situations.

[Cheapy]

Mechalibur wrote:

Definitely not a fan of them here. It thankfully doesn't take anything away, but I feel the space would be much better used further exploring areas/themes of Golarion, or providing more gameplay options, which are scarce in these companions.

Explaining what types of roles are present in a culture could probably be done with a sentence or two, but I'd prefer more options to embody the roles rather than a template providing gameplay suggestions.

I too would rather have more options, but the guidance can be nice too.

Perhaps Roles could take on a capacity in the blog as part of the announcement of the book?

[Tsukiyomi]

Cheapy wrote:

Mechalibur wrote:

Definitely not a fan of them here. It thankfully doesn't take anything away, but I feel the space would be much better used further exploring areas/themes of Golarion, or providing more gameplay options, which are scarce in these companions.

Explaining what types of roles are present in a culture could probably be done with a sentence or two, but I'd prefer more options to embody the roles rather than a template providing gameplay suggestions.

I too would rather have more options, but the guidance can be nice too.

Perhaps Roles could take on a capacity in the blog as part of the announcement of the book?

That would be pretty fantastic. The guidance is wonderful for new players, and makes the lore easier to put into application for those not on the up and up.