Cannot find an "old" version of this prestige class on SRD, but can find new version of 2017 year. Prestige class was "updated"? Old souldrinker is no longer oficial? :( Now without negative levels, but with "great fortitude" as a tax for caster prestige?
Old version: http://archivesofnethys.com/PrestigeClassesDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Souldrinke r
New version: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/s-z/souldrinke r/
It now comes with fast-track obedience boons, giving you stuff tied to your patron. You still inflict negative levels, now limited but at range. And Great Fortitude is useful on most arcane casters, so I’m not seeing a huge issue there.
For me it's just first time when something is "updated" entirely.
And no, you don't still inflict negative levels, you now cast enervation, and enervation is a 4th level spell, that is on a list of 8th level caster (prestige class now limited by 8th level minimum).
And no such pretty things like conductive weapon + negative levels from souldrinker, enervations now limited.
And greater oblivion now sucks: blade barrier vs +4 variable enhacement bonus to weapon?
Yeah, the existing stuff got nerfed down to a more reasonable level, but now you also get options like implanting part of your soul in somebody for permanent at-will spying plus 1/day brief control over them, ignoring mind-affecting immunity.
I mean, the ability to cause negative levels is usually overpowered against anything that isn't directly immune to them, so I feel like the change was necessary. Unlimited use cause negative levels was too strong.
Oh well, but now it is almost completely useless.
And my question is: is an old version legal? Because I cannot understand, a new book is not errata or something like this, there are an old book and a new book now, and prestige class with the same name :)
Oh well, but now it is almost completely useless.
And my question is: is an old version legal? Because I cannot understand, a new book is not errata or something like this, there are an old book and a new book now, and prestige class with the same name :)
The answer is no and yes. Paizo doesn’t enforce anything. You can use the old version if the group is cool with it. Are most GMs going to allow the old version of an updated prestige class? Not unless you ask for permission. (Conductive weapons probably won’t help your case.) The reprinted version is the official one, though.
Actually intrested, is it legal for Pathfibder Society? And if yes, what happens with their characters? :)
And for OP - I agree, but it was legal nearly 5 years, I think, and nobody cared about errata or something. First time I see nee book with old prestige class, that overlaps and nerfs the other in previous book :)
Even if you agree that there were balance issues, the fact is that this was a complete redesign of the prestige class. As a result, there's still going to be significant demand for the old version from some tables, so continued access to those rules is useful.
I once had a Souldrinker in an evil game. It wasn't overpowered (unless you build for it, melee touch attacks are not easy to pull off) and it would have been a huge annoyance to rebuild in the middle of a game, so there's no way I would have forced a rebuild to the new version at the time.
There are a lot more contentious cases than the Souldrinker. The most prominent ones are the Diabolist (which got a complete flavor change) and the Juju Oracle (which lost everything that had made it noteworthy in the first place). I do think it's a hazard Paizo needs to be mindful of, since when the old versions fulfill a niche that the new versions don't, a lot of people just won't convert. And as a community, that makes it really confusing when there are multiple competing versions of the same archetype/class being used by different people.
Actually intrested, is it legal for Pathfibder Society?
Evil characters aren't allowed in PFS, so no it's not permitted.
And if yes, what happens with their characters? :)
A situation similar to that happened when the Unchained Summoner was introduced and replaced the original Summoner from the APG. In that case, new characters were forced to use the Unchained Summoner while existing characters were grandfathered but had the option of rebuilding.
Actually intrested, is it legal for Pathfibder Society? And if yes, what happens with their characters? :)
And for OP - I agree, but it was legal nearly 5 years, I think, and nobody cared about errata or something. First time I see nee book with old prestige class, that overlaps and nerfs the other in previous book :)
Eh, there were threads about it. It was a casting PrC that didn’t require casting, and tempting to dip just enough to get unlimited negative level touch attacks on a martial class. Really not a great design for a caster PrC. There were also a couple dead levels in the PrC.
At Paizo, errata happens when material is reprinted. For hardcovers, that’s when a book gets a second or third print run. For campaign setting material, though, there was little chance of that. However, the books were popular enough to get collected into one big hardcover. As part of that, the material got reviewed, and PrCs for devils and daemons were updated to match the basic style of the demon PrC (which was the last one released).