Next 3 Rulebooks – You Choose!

[Opsylum]

Okay, so a genie grants you three wishes, and insists you use all of them on making new Pathfinder books because they are also a massive geek. What do want Pathfinder to look like a year or two out from now? What monstrosities will you waken?? I'll start.

Songs of War

What's in it?:

This book provides a wealth of options giving even more variety to combat encounters and military-themed campaigns. Fortress management would be all about creating an expansive base of operations for PCs: upgradeable defensive fortifications, weapons, supply networks, or Starfinder-style expansion bays for specialized quarters. Create the personal lair of your dreams! A couple of new subsystems would be introduced to complement these rules, including subsystems for siege preparation and skirmish encounters. These rules would contain guidelines for setting up battlefield scenarios like the kind in Ironfang Invasion, giving you easy-to-assemble objectives, complications, and other scenario building blocks to construct a siege narrative on the fly. Skirmish encounters are all about simulating PCs fighting on the front line between two large armies, and the perils of that. There might be new types of hazards exclusive to this type of encounter, including some PCs might command themselves. There could also be some guidelines for creating time-based objectives, as in "defeat this many enemies or disable that hazard before so many rounds pass" and figuring out the appropriate CR for that. Something to make battlefield fights a little more epic than your average encounter. PC options would be flavored around military adventures, and for lore, we could get a half-treatise/half-bestiary of assets, tactics and special training employed by major military powers around Golarion. Give some weaponry and abilities to NPCs that makes fighting a soldier from Mzali and a soldier from Cheliax a slightly different experience. Lastly, Warlord or Runeknight or some tanky type class comes in for players to storm the frontlines, as well as Sayre's Shaman to bring healing to the wounded and distraught after the conflict is over.

New Rules: Fortress Management
Subsystems: Siege & Skirmish (w/ lots of hazards & timed encounter system)
Classes: Warlord/Runeknight & Shaman
PC Stuff: War-Themed Themed Equipment & Options
Lore: Militaries of Golarion

Rose & Dagger

What's in it?:

Social encounters are where this book specializes! James Jacobs mention kingdom-building rules wouldn't really work for any campaign aside from Kingmaker, so it'd be nice if we could get some more agnostic rules for that. Maybe agnostic enough you could use these same rules for ruling a merchant guild, or mercenary company, or magic school. A nice expansion to the leadership subsystem in GMG for people wanting that experience with a litte more depth. For that matter, other subsystems could benefit from more options, like research (whodunnit??), infiltration, and influence. Maybe uplift Extinction Curse's performance subsystem into a formal set of rules – what's a good intrigue-heavy story without a little dramatic opera or theatre? Intrigue options for players galore (Ultimate Intrigue had a lot of great stuff I'd like to see come back). Finally, lore section would give a peek into the inner intrigues of prominent noble courts around Golarion, and the active conspiracies unfolding there players might foil or capitalize on for their own benefit. Oh, and Inquisitor would be perfect for a debut here, sniffing out heresy and infamy, as well as an Envoy/Herald type-class, for players who want to face for their party without relying on magic.

New Rules: Enterprise Management
Subsystems: Expanded Research, Infiltration, Influence & Performance
Classes: Herald & Inquisitor
PC Stuff: Intrigue-Themed Equipment & Options
Lore: Noble Courts of Golarion

Grand Voyage

What's in it?:

This book is all about the exploration aspects of Pathfinder, and a really good book to pick up if you like vehicles! New rules include expanded biome survival options and hazards, as well as crew management. Rather than modifying a vehicle specifically, this is about managing the company traveling with a vehicle(s), including systems for morale, NPCs with specialized jobs, high-demand trade goods you might transport, patrons, etc (probably borrowing a lot from Jade Regent's caravan rules). Following this woud be an expansion the the vehicle subsystem, providing a variety of options for upgrading vehicles, with an emphasis on naval vessels. Ship combat would also receive some attention, giving that system a little more depth that expands upon options introduced in G&G and GMG, with a small bestiary of pregenerated enemy vessels and hazards for PCs to face off against. Many, many vehicles would be included in the player options part of the book, emphasizing seafaring ships, but also including other things like specialized carriages, wagons, or more siege vehicles. Lore sections could include mini-gazetteers of the great wonders of Golarion: major trade and port cities on the edge of the wilderness, as well as some sites of natural wonder, which PCs might make pilgrimage to on their grand voyage. Finally, the book could introduce the Kineticist and Shifter classes, perfect for braving the elements!

New Rules: Crew Management, Expanded Biome Options & Hazards
Subsystems: Vehicles Upgrades & Ship Combat
Classes: Kineticist & Shifter
PC Stuff: Vehicles, Nautical Equipment & Treasures, Wilderness-Themed Options
Lore: Great Wonders of Golarion

[keftiu]

Bless you for using a wish on a book that has the Herald and the Inquisitor - I’d love both, especially under one roof! And it spares me a wish, freeing it up for yet another Lost Omens book. Grand Voyage is also one I’d love to pick up. I’m not sure I understand why Shaman is in the war book, though.

My Pitches:

Lost Omens: Ancestry Guide 2

I think the line could support (and would benefit from!) multiple Ancestry Guides, rather than it being a singular release. People constantly ask for more info on and Feats for more niche ancestries; this would be the place to establish some Shisk culture, tell us how it feels to be a Conrasu, throw out some additional Anadi feats, and the like. The new Ancestries would mostly be from places unlikely to get representation otherwise, to enable player characters to exist from more niche spots with at least a handful of mechanical guidance. A selection of Tian ancestries (Samsarans, at least!) make an appearance, as do Lashunta and Formians - and this is probably also where I finally sneak in playable Minotaurs.

Lost Omens: Fallen Razatlan

Razatlan once ruled nearly all of Arcadia, and the heart of the continent is a place forever marked by the empire that once ruled it and the saints who once walked it. Here Caldaru traders rub shoulders with chatty Wyrwood constructs, massive crowds roar for the highs and lows of boundball games, and the couatl fight their eternal war against the forces of fear. I want Mesoamerican and Latine fantasy as vivid and full-throated as the Mwangi book got to be! This should feel like a setting unto itself, rich in history and rife with adventure.

Lost Omens: The Broken Lands

Avistan’s wildest corner bears the scars of an explosive decade; demons have been driven from the lands of the Sarkorian people and Mendev’s crusaders, Numeria has cast off the shackles of the Technic League, and the River Kingdoms have seen incredible shifts with the ascent of a new power. While those lands brace for an uncertain future, their neighbors threaten to pull themselves apart; Razmir’s mortality draws ever nearer even as Brevoy threatens to split in two!

This is /the/ part of the setting most changed by the events of 1e, while dynamic and messy changes are imminent for just about everyone. Dragons at war in Choral’s name! Android priestesses and alien agents vying for the Black Sovereign’s favor! Folk genuinely trying to heal the former Worldwound and make it a home! SO much of what makes Pathfinder fun is over here, and it deserves the spotlight.

Also, it might have a couple fun pieces of Numerian tech :>

It does wound me to not have a Mwangi-style refresh for the Golden Road on my list - three isn’t enough! I do emphatically want to say that I want that, also, but I already feel terribly greedy as-is.

[RaptorJesues]

Opsylum wrote:

...

I tried to think of something but yeah, I am pretty much on board with your pitches. Lets frickin go!

[RiverMesa]

My pitches, both mainline and Lost Omens:

Tome of Alchemy

Alchemy was majorly revised between editions to explicitly no longer be magical, with alchemical items and the alchemist class elevated to being right in the Core Rulebook, but apart from that...We really haven't gotten a whole lot about it since - sure, there's been various alchemical items and class options here and there, and it was touched upon indirectly in Guns & Gears (by way of gunpowder), but it still feels a little...underdeveloped.

A book like this could contain the following:
- Potentially a new alchemy-based class, distinct from the alchemist
- New alchemical and alchemical-adjacent options for other classes - a boatload for the alchemist proper of course, but also things like a mutagen instinct barbarian, a chymist rogue racket or a potion wizard thesis
- Naturally, a metric ton of new alchmical items themselves - bombs, elixirs, mutagens, tools, et cetera.
- New alchemical-themed creatures - constructs, oozes, and more! (Alchemical undead, or outsiders concerned with the science?)
- Lore on alchemy, penned by legendary alchemist Artokus Kirran himself - a treatise on alchemy itself, information on alchemy-heavy places like Thuvia, schools of alchemy around Golarion, factions that heavily utilize or delve into the field, and so on.

Lost Omens: Relics of Power
Pitched elsewhere some time ago, but might as well toss it here too.

Adventurers, whether benevolent or malicious, often wield and strive for powerful objects - ancient weapons and armor, tomes containing legendary lore, and other esoteric curios. What are some of the most sought-after and storied items in the Age of Lost Omens - who wields or guards them, where are they located, and what makes them stand apart from the rest?

Obviously the main appeal here are the items themselves - (almost) all unique artifacts, certainly, but also, much like Monsters of Myth, there's room for a lot of support material - information on locations where they're found, writeups on NPCs or creatures associated with them, or other game rules bits, and great artwork and lore to go along with it all.

Chronicle of the Righteous

One of the three legendary tomes penned by the angel Tabris, the celestial counterpart to the Book of the Dead!

Contained therein:
- Celestial-themed character options - things for aasimar of all stripes, options for champions, clerics and other goodly characters.
- Divine spells, rituals and celestial equipment options.
- Lore about the good planes of Heaven, Nirvana and Elysium, as well as mortal realms strongly influenced by those divine realms - such as Holomog and Dehrukani in Garund, or Tianjing in Tian Xia.
- Naturally, a boatload of celestials and celestial-adjacent creatures - archons, angels, agathions, azatas, and more!
- Expansion on various empyreal lords and good deities like Sarenrae, and their divine realms.
- A plane-hopping adventure of some sort across the upper planes, perhaps?

(I'd also +1 pretty much all of Keftiu's wishes.)

[NECR0G1ANT]

'Song of War' is a better title than 'Secrets of Combat', so hats off.

My choices:

1. Advanced Player's Guide 2 - expands on additional options more than anything else. More ancestry lore, ancesty feats, artwork, maybe a new ancestry or two, Many new general feats, many new archetypes, more class feats & paths for non-CRB classes.

2. Gamemastery Guide 2 - more variant rules (including non-Vancian casting!), more subsystems that aren't Victory Points, tips on running themed campaigns (intrigue, wilderness, etc.) Like Ultimate Campaign.

3. Book of the Damned (2E) - like Book of the Dead, but for fiends and evil divinities. Like the 1E version, but more focus on Paizo-original fiends like sahkils&qlippoth and less on demons and such. Lore info on alignment, entries for deities that don't have them, lots of great artwork.

[Kasoh]

Economy of the Inner Sea:

This dull treatise examines the means of production and the mechanisms by which it is exploited throughout the Inner Sea. Who is in a trade deficit? Who owns all those Mendevian War Bonds? What is the primary export of Andoran, and is FREEDOM not the right answer?

Enjoy the Tax Dodger Rogue Racket, the Forensic Accounting Investigator Methodology, Fiat Reagent Wizard Thesis, Blood Money Sorcerer Bloodline, The Plenary Indulgence Doctrine Cleric. Includes archetypes like Merchant Prince, Robber Baron, Merry Man, and Counterfeiter.

Marvel at the Guild subsystem, and engage in Trade Wars with rival conglomerates. Don't conquer the Inner Sea with swords or magic like boorish adventurers, do it real power: Money.

Lost Omens: Treasures of Myth

A new iteration of Artifacts & Legends, but focused more on large vast fortunes that have been lost to time, ready for Indiana Jones, Uncharted, or National Treasure style shenanigans to almost recover them.

Inner Sea Curses:

Fairy Tales, Witches, Fey, Wizards. If you've got a drop of magic in you and spite to spare, odds are you've leveled a curse at someone. Sometimes, they even manage to stick. Expand your options for creative curses including a dedicated subsystem for how to break them, create them, or subvert them.

Read about famous curses that still linger. Maybe even a small adventure to rouse a sleeping heir from their eternal slumber.

[HumbleGamer]

Settlements ( It would be Book I, II, III, etc... but one per year would be nice I guess ).

A list of the whole major settlements on golarion, including the ones from AP, allowing DMs to run their campaign in a smoother way.

Familiars and Companions!

After some years, I think it's time for paizo to sit down and consider the issues that came out over the years, since the release, with either familiars and companions.

A few examples:

- STR companions close to be useless ( AC issues ).
- Barding purposes
- Mature Companion's Free action if not commanded ( a flyer can't fly, but just stride, for example )
- Familiars and teleportation spells ( a Spellcaster has to leave its familiar always behind after having cast dimensional door or a similar spell )
- Redundant or not clear familiar abilities ( Lab assistant, Valet not requiring manual dexterity )
- Including everything that has been said on youtube interviews by devs ( if after evaluating modifies, it's still intended to be treated that way ) or other unofficial channels.

[Sanityfaerie]

Book of Variations: just crammed full of class archetypes that *significantly* change the base class in some way. Here's where you get the archetypes that convert full casters into wave casters in return for buffing up some other part of what they do. Here's where you get the martial and true synthesist Summoner (and possibly the "cash in my Eidolon for Summon-as-a-focus-spell Summoner). Here's where you get what would elsewhere be split classes - the grenadier alchemist, the mutagenist barbarian, the bloodrager and so forth. Then maybe some extra class feats sprinkle around to help fill out the classes that are still a bit short on options.

(Actually that one's cheating, because I don't want it to be one of the next three. I absolutely do want it... but I don't necessarily think they're ready for it yet.)

Book of the Unnatural: Let's be honest. This is "Book of the Dead, except for aberrations, and feel free to go a bit heavy on the player options". I could try to gussy it up, but that's what it is, and I'm not going to lie about it. If I could take it a step further to what I'd eagerly dream of, away from anything that I think I might actually get, I'd ask for an Aberrant Inheritor class - representing someone who has some aberrant bloodline or infection or something that's slowly growing stronger within them. Class feats are all about taking on features from various existing aberrants, strengthening those features in various ways, and developing special moves using them. Probably say a standard martial chassis with unarmed attack and medium armor, and class paths that are just based on what your initial unarmed attack is. Is it a tentacle? A claw? A cloud of alien spores? A beam of terrible green light? For class features outside of the basic chassis? Honestly, just give me more class feats to spend, and more class feat options to spend them on.

I'm afraid I don't have a third. I'll see if I can convince the genie to let me spend it on having them join me for gaming.

[Ganigumo]

Book 1: "Alchemical Sciences in Golarion", revamps alchemist, introduces "Arcanochemist" who's more similar to the 1e alchemist and mixes magic with alchemy (the revamped alchemist would have a more martial bent, so the class wouldn't be trying to fit somewhere between martial and caster). It would also be full of new alchemical items, tools, weapons, archetypes and subclasses, like a potion brewing druid/cleric, or a poisoner rogue. Would also have some variant crafting rules to make it simpler to manage, for consumable items in particular.

Book 2: "Nature's Wrath", heavy primal focused book that revamps and cleans up animal companion rules and gives them more options. Would also have new primal spells, new subclasses with primal support. Could have a few new classes in Bloodrager and hunter. Also the first Ancestry Class. Its an Ancestry with some special rules that can only ever be one class. In this instance it would be "Beast". Beast would be a martial class focused mainly on unarmed attacks, sort of like monk. Beast heritages would be related to the species of animal, so things like "canine", "feline", "bear" etc. The heritages would also determine which subclasses are available, so a cat might be locked out of a defender subclass, where a bear could be locked out of dex focused striking. They would also get special unique backgrounds, that are mostly stronger than usual, to explain why the animal is as intelligent/cooperative as it is. So options like "Awakened animal" which would give a full int score (and corresponding understanding), "former animal companion", "Pet", etc. Maybe the class could combine their ancestry and class feats together into a single pool as well, or have class feats with the ancestry tag.

Book 3: "The Ultimate guide to Combat", a book full of archetypes, with a martial bent. Nothing is too niche or cheesy not to get an archetype here, and the narrative author would be some naive wizard who conducted a bunch of interviews and couldn't tell when someone was pulling his leg. Swordmaster? check. Axemaster? check. Gishes? Check. That one guy who dual wields shields from pf1 because of weapon training/focus/specialization? check. Everybody is here.

[Opsylum]

Loving all the awesome ideas in this thread. Monster family-themed bestiaries seem to have a lot of mileage going on right now, whether for aberrations or celestials or fiends or whathaveyou. I've been interested to see whether these books will continue to focus on single types, like undead or aberrations, or combine multiple types under a theme, like something new agey-mystical for a book about fey, elementals and dream denizens – or monster hunting for a book about magical beasts, megafauna and dragons. Whichever way it goes, excited to see more about that. Also, as an aficionado of all things alchemy-related, would love to see more lore about this side of Pathfinder.

I love alchemy!:

Also, RiverMesa, if you don't know about it, you should check out Alchemy & Poisoncraft by Cabal of Enchantment until the creative-powers-that-be turn their eyes on us again. That book dives hard into the lore aspect of alchemy, focusing on philosophical and methodological approaches, legends and fables, ethics, tools, herbs & components, interesting alchemical creations – you name it. One of the happiest purchases I've made, lots of inspiring material here! Okay, sorry for the shameless promotion of a favorite tabletop startup.

I too would also like to see something like a Campaign Guide or APG/GMG 2. Alternate class features would be a really cool way to cover some missing ground in the system (a defense-focused Fighter that gets legendary proficiency in armor instead of weapons?). And of course, I'm super in love with the subsystems introduced in GMG, and would love to see more attention given to them in future rulebook releases. They're so versatile and simplified, and such a great way of keeping sessions from becoming overreliant on combat encounters. Specifically I'd like to see that stress system proposed by Price for psychological horror games make its debut, and management rules like the kind Jacobs is working on with kingdom management to start getting more attention. Plenty of ways for Pathfinder to continue diversifying its modes of storytelling!

[keftiu]

Book of the Dead for aberrations is already a home-run idea, but include a meaty section on the Dominion of the Black and it becomes something truly irresistible.

I’m just now putting together that you wanted rulebooks, not just any books - my bad!

[Cylar Nann]

I know it isn't likely but I really just want more books like Advanced Player Guide. As a player there is nothing that has been even close to as good to me.

As a GM I would like more Bestiaries and another GMGs. So the books would be.

BOOK 1 APG 2
Classes: Kineticist / Shifter / Inquisitor / Skald
Other than that just more archetypes and feats for classes/ancestries that could use more feats.

Book 2 GMG 2
Really have no idea what could be in this book, but more variant rules might be fun.

Book 3 Bestiary 4
Pretty much the reverse of the APG imo as a GM. I know there are a lot of monsters in the game already but the way PF2 works it really pays off to have a lot of monsters in each level range.

If I was able to only be a player it would 100% be APG 2, APG 3, APG 4

[Sanityfaerie]

Actually, I think i have my third now.

Book of Pacts: covers mystical contracts of all sorts that you can make with various Entities who have enough magical power to matter, but not enough to actually be a god. (...as an example, Razmiran priests would absolutely have access to pact magic.) Some of them are feat-based. Some are equivalent to nontransferrable magical items - rewards for properly impressing the appropriate patron or perhaps indulgences given in return for sufficiently lavish gifts. Some of them just require that you find the right patron and make a deal. Regardless, they all come with both upsides and downsides, and, of course, the free ones are often the most costly. In addition to offering you some nice tastes of left-hand paths to power, this book serves as a bit of a quiet buff to both thaumaturges and witches, who have a deeper connection with various kinds of pact-lore and are thus in better positions to leverage new pacts.

[Ly'ualdre]

Hmm. There's a lot of things I'd love to see.

Buuuut, I'll say a "Tactics & Warfare" book, withe rules related to what it says on the tin. A stealth and intrigue focused rulebook, partly to roundout the martial and magic options we've seen recently, but also because I have reason to believe it'll be one of the next books anyways. Finally, I'll say a Tian-Xia focused book. I know any people want to see other regions, myself included, and we have plenty of Tian-Xia from 1e. But it is my favorite region in Golarion. So that would be my pick.

[The-Magic-Sword]

Ly'ualdre wrote:

Hmm. There's a lot of things I'd love to see.

Buuuut, I'll say a "Tactics & Warfare" book, withe rules related to what it says on the tin. A stealth and intrigue focused rulebook, partly to roundout the martial and magic options we've seen recently, but also because I have reason to believe it'll be one of the next books anyways. Finally, I'll say a Tian-Xia focused book. I know any people want to see other regions, myself included, and we have plenty of Tian-Xia from 1e. But it is my favorite region in Golarion. So that would be my pick.

I'd love both of those things, personally, especially depending on possible classes for "Tactics and Warfare"

Separately from agreeing with you, a First World version of Book of the Dead is both already highly demanded, and something I would love to see.

[Ly'ualdre]

The-Magic-Sword wrote:

Ly'ualdre wrote:

Hmm. There's a lot of things I'd love to see.

Buuuut, I'll say a "Tactics & Warfare" book, withe rules related to what it says on the tin. A stealth and intrigue focused rulebook, partly to roundout the martial and magic options we've seen recently, but also because I have reason to believe it'll be one of the next books anyways. Finally, I'll say a Tian-Xia focused book. I know any people want to see other regions, myself included, and we have plenty of Tian-Xia from 1e. But it is my favorite region in Golarion. So that would be my pick.

I'd love both of those things, personally, especially depending on possible classes for "Tactics and Warfare"

Separately from agreeing with you, a First World version of Book of the Dead is both already highly demanded, and something I would love to see.

I didn't have the time earlier to really dive into my ideas, but here are a few:

Tactics & Warfare:

The martial counterpart to Secrets of Magic. We have Guns & Gears, which did feature a plethora of martial options; I feel it was a special example. I'm looking more for a generalized book focused on martial combat of all kinds. Large scale battles, guerilla tactics, navel & aerial combat, and more. The class here would obviously be the highly demanded Warlord, a Class focused on controlling the battlefield through tactical acumen, buffing/debuffing allies/enemies, superior positioning, and (why not) some options that allow them to control troop-like groups of NPC's when large-scale battles are apart of your game. Along with this, rules to support large-scale combat scenarios (which we know we are likely getting at some point). I've recently opened up the the idea that not every book that introduces a Class need to introduce more than one. So just the Warlord would be fine I think. Buuuut, this would also be a perfect place to introduce another new Class that's been tossed around a bit: one with a focus on defense of their allies. Champion does measures of this, but I'd love something whose options are really, REALLY about defense. Defender and Protector are good names, I'd personally go with Guardian myself here.

Intrigue & Espionage:

The, imo, inevitable Rulebook to give those sneaky sneakers the stealth and guile they need to set of that perfect heist. Speaking of, something about performing heists would be a neat addition. Truthfully, I haven't thought up a lot for this one, it's more that I'm very confident it's coming sooner than later. Could be a good place to see the return of the Inquisitor in some way, as well as another new Class if they wanted. Again, not strictly necessary I feel, but they may continue to add them in pairs. I'll come back to this when I have more solid ideas.

[Opsylum]

Ly'ualdre wrote:

A stealth and intrigue focused rulebook, partly to roundout the martial and magic options we've seen recently, but also because I have reason to believe it'll be one of the next books anyways. Finally, I'll say a Tian-Xia focused book. I know any people want to see other regions, myself included, and we have plenty of Tian-Xia from 1e. But it is my favorite region in Golarion. So that would be my pick.

Lol, one of the main things I was thinking about when I was typing up that pitch for "Rose & Dagger's" noble courts section was "I super want to see what's going on in Lingshen or Po Li right now, as they're maneuvering pieces around trying to restore the empire. Seeing some successor state intrigue up close would be freaking sweet.

Also, what makes you think intrigue will be one of the next books? Aside from the obvious demand for one, anyway.

[Scarablob]

I only have two main wishes, and they would be :

Lost Omen : The Golden Road

I like ancient egypt:

One of the only 2e book I have is the mwangi expanse, and I really like it, despite the fact that I wasn't really interested in the place before reading it (I only got it because it had stellar reviews and I wanted more fluff about the anadi and grandmother spider). The only criticism I would have against it is that there isn't enought of it, and that I would have liked the uncommon and rare ancestries to also have a 10 page lore summary each. So obviously, I now pretty much want one of these for every part of the setting, and the golden road is the one I want explored that way the most (narrowly beating the broken lands and impossible kingdoms). It's mostly because I want more lore on Rahadoum and (especially) Osirion, which I think is a bit too bland and could use a lore rework, but I'm pretty sure that if such a book was made, paizo would manage to make me interested in the other countries of the golden road.

Basically the mwangi expanse book, but set in another region of golarion. I want it for all the important regions at the end, but the golden road is the one I'm anticipating the most.

Fairy Tales and Fae Adventures

The first world is really neat:

The first world is one of the least explored part of the setting cosmology I feel like, along with the elemental planes (but to be fair, I don't really care about those). A book that introduce mechanic specifically for dealing with the first world, travelling throught it and how it's weird rules might change how the game is played within it would be really great. Furthermore, it could expand on the eldest and include their rules for 2e, add some first world specific archetype and ancestries... Basically a first world oriented "ultimate wilderness" for 2e would be great. Actually, an ultimate wilderness for 2e full stop would be great, especially now that primal magic is it's own thing. Altho it might be too soon in the edition to start introducing the "variant rules" that the ultimate books had.

I like the lore we already have about the first world, I like the fae and their alien morality, I just want more of them, and with maybe a number of fae and first world related archetype, ancestry and the like.

[Ly'ualdre]

Opsylum wrote:

Ly'ualdre wrote:

A stealth and intrigue focused rulebook, partly to roundout the martial and magic options we've seen recently, but also because I have reason to believe it'll be one of the next books anyways. Finally, I'll say a Tian-Xia focused book. I know any people want to see other regions, myself included, and we have plenty of Tian-Xia from 1e. But it is my favorite region in Golarion. So that would be my pick.

Lol, one of the main things I was thinking about when I was typing up that pitch for "Rose & Dagger's" noble courts section was "I super want to see what's going on in Lingshen or Po Li right now, as they're maneuvering pieces around trying to restore the empire. Seeing some successor state intrigue up close would be freaking sweet.

Also, what makes you think intrigue will be one of the next books? Aside from the obvious demand for one, anyway.

Aside from the fact that it seems like the natural next step where class focused books are concerned; there have been a few little comment here and there by devs that my overactive imagination felt were kind of out of context and wondered if they were indicative of things to come. It isn't uncommon for things to be said or included in products that eventually turns out to mean something later. But, I recognize here that it is some wishful thinking on my part. After all, the entire forum has been hoodwinked twice now in regards to a possible Warlord class. It'll be amusing if the next playtest features the same art they've used the last two time, leading us to doubt, and then it turns out to be the Warlord. Lol

EDIT: I hope if when we get a Golden Roads book, it adds some more Egyptian gods to the Ancient Osirion Pantheon. I doubt it'll happen, but I recently came up with a Moon Knight expy and desperately need them to include Khonsu in the Pantheon to work it. Lol

[TheSageOfHours]

What an awesome thread idea!

Everyone has put forth such cool ideas I feel I could easily fill all my wishes twice over and more with just them, but here we go.

I want to just say something like APG2 with options for both core and later classes and also all the classes I want, but I will try to make a couple in the SoM and G&G style.

I couldn't fit bloodrager in here but please paizo.

SAGA OF LEGENDS
Classes: Skald and Medium
This book is about stories and the truth behind stories, about the power of legends to inspire, as well as magic based on stories (I really like the folklorist archetype). There is some DM content with some advice on different kinds of legends and stories adventurers might encounter and how to craft them to enhance the background of your world. Also more DM content about how to show the effects of how their growing fame turns to stories that inspire people and how their fame can spread. How the telephone effect may cause tall tales to grow about the party, with some optional rules about gaining power from the legendary deeds you have accomplished. (A friend of mine got me to read the novel Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint and there are alot of interesting ideas in there about gaining actual power from stories, though this would obviously not be on that scale). Think something like manipulating a situation so it in some way resembles a deed from earlier, so if you can convince reality a la the thaumaturge, you get buffs or something.
Skald is an obvious choice for this book (this whole idea is mostly me wanting Skald) and I think medium is relevant because you are literally channeling the heroes and villains of the past,

THE ARTIFACT VAULT
Classes: Runeknight and (INSERT APPROPRIATE CLASS IDEA HERE)
This book is all about magic items, as well as archetypes, spells, systems, and optional rules related to them.
I feel like Runeknight is a good pick because (I want it really bad) it essentially involves temporarily enchanting equipment. There would be a focus in this book on the aspects of the Enchantment school related to actually enchanting things rather than the charm person side of the school.

(INSERT COOL NAME FOR A BOOK ABOUT PLAYER RUN ORGANIZATIONS)
Classes: Warlord and Inquisitor
This one is all about player run organizations, as well as player owned buildings and land. So here you would have rules for running adventuring guilds, mercenary companies, magic schools, churches, as well as some stuff on player run settlements, either home bases (castles, wizard towers, taverns, etc) or stuff like villages and towns. Additional rules would include stuff like the demesne effects from Matt Colville's Strongholds & Followers 5e book, which are basically effects that your characters presence has on the land, and possible abilities related to that. An idea for this kind of thing being that land ruled by a sorcerer is effected by the magic of their bloodline, causing a higher than normal percentage of sorcerers (or bloodragers haha) born in the area, all of the ruler's bloodline. lots of fisher king type things, where the ruler has an effect on the place, even for nonmagical classes.
Warlord and Inquisitor are great picks for this because they both are deeply entwined with organizations as an idea.

Also people have been talking about possible Inquisitor renames, and I was thinking "Harbinger" might be a good one. It is not perfectly on point definitionally, but in terms of feel "I AM AN INQUISITOR OF PHARASMA" has a similar energy to "I AM PHARASMA"S HARBINGER" very menacing, goes with the "serves higher purpose" thing. not exactly on point, but I figured I would throw it out there.

One final bonus book idea: TOME OF THE FORBIDDEN.
no classes
This book is something that they would never print because it would probably cause conflict and is too niche to sell well, BUT here it is
A book filled entirely with Rare (super rare?) optional rules, spells, feats, etc, specifically all the sorts of stuff that Paizo has decided to reduce or get rid of to make P2E so wonderfully balanced, or just other stuff they think of, I haven't played 1e or 3.5 so I don't really know. A place for the designers to go crazy without as many limits. SO here we would get stuff like summoning a ton of creatures at once, permanent spells, 11th level spells, things that break the economy like weapon summoning (please give more non rare weapon summoning options). etc etc
I know one of my friends would love this one, he is a crazy DM who tells us to make characters using any option regardless or rarity or lore.

wow this post was way longer than I intended, sorry friends

[Ched Greyfell]

1) epic/mythic

2) a faction guide with scores you can track (like the 3.5 PH2 had, or even the PF1 Faction Guide)

3) an NPC codex!!!

[Ignis Fatuus]

1) Tradewinds: expanede rules on organizations, developing and mantaining trade rutes, events, naval and caravan combat.

2) Epic: I don't beleive Mythic can be done while mataining the tight math unless every option or boon doesn't have a direct combat impact.

3)A book with the Inquisitor and Kineticist

[Ravingdork]

My first choice would be a light weight conversion book that adjusts DCs, treasure, and encounters for the 1st Edition adventure paths to 2nd Edition values.

That would save the GMs of the world a lot of work and would actually promote more purchases of existing products. (Unlike recreating the adventure paths in full, which then compete with themselves.)

[Rude_]

That would be incredible. They could theoretically do the same with old 1e content for 5e and other systems, which could lead to those people checking out new APs for 2E

[Novem]

1) Advanced Player's Guide 2: Containing 4 new classes preferably including Brawler (because the system is seriously missing an unarmed combat style that doesn't focus on martial arts), and a whole slew of new class feats/subclasses for existing classes along with a ton of new archetypes and class archetypes.

2) Tian Xia - Age of Lost Omens: A Tian Xia sourcebook that goes over all the different nations and cultures of Tian Xia, with a dive into the territory as thorough as the one for the Mwangi Expanse.

3) A Tian Xia Adventure Path: Preferably something mystical and that actually takes place entirely with Tian Xia, maybe with some traveling too. Like the players could get a boat and go between a bunch of islands in a battle against some type of ancient curse.

[Themetricsystem]

1) Now that the "Core" books are done: A rules omnibus that strips most of the setting info, lore, and flavor while rewriting, condensing, and clarifying the mechanical rules and of the system in one large book. This is likely a pipe-dream as it would effectively discourage actual sales of the Core books but I would gladly welcome it at my physical table over the current mix of the CRB + PDFs + Errata summaries + FAQ page.

2) The polar opposite of request #1, a book that contains absolutely no rules or mechanical content, instead it just provides the lore, canon, history, and flavor from the "Core" books all in one product.

3) A book that includes nothing but Archetypes, Class Paths, Feats, Equipment, Spells/Rituals, Ancestries, and Heritages. No new classes, no pages spent on introducing new mechanics or optional rules, but simply a book that expands on the groundwork that is already laid instead of pouring new foundations.

[Davido1000]

Novem wrote:

1) Advanced Player's Guide 2: Containing 4 new classes preferably including Brawler (because the system is seriously missing an unarmed combat style that doesn't focus on martial arts), and a whole slew of new class feats/subclasses for existing classes along with a ton of new archetypes and class archetypes.

I agree on the apg2 for more content for existing classes and new archetypes but i think paizo really needs to slow it down on the classes and i especially wouldn't want 4 in one book.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Davido1000 wrote:

Novem wrote:

1) Advanced Player's Guide 2: Containing 4 new classes preferably including Brawler (because the system is seriously missing an unarmed combat style that doesn't focus on martial arts), and a whole slew of new class feats/subclasses for existing classes along with a ton of new archetypes and class archetypes.

I agree on the apg2 for more content for existing classes and new archetypes but i think paizo really needs to slow it down on the classes and i especially wouldn't want 4 in one book.

I agree, too many orphaned classes with little to no support beyond their original book was 1E problem.

[keftiu]

I'd honestly be very content with a book that had no new Classes, but a small mountain of new subclasses, Class Feats, and Class Archetypes. Nobody's ever upset about options.

[Laclale♪]

Novem wrote:

2) Tian Xia - Age of Lost Omens: A Tian Xia sourcebook that goes over all the different nations and cultures of Tian Xia, with a dive into the territory as thorough as the one for the Mwangi Expanse.

3) A(nother) Tian Xia Adventure Path: Preferably something mystical and that actually takes place entirely with Tian Xia, maybe with some traveling too. Like the players could get a boat and go between a bunch of islands in a battle against some type of ancient curse.

2) Yeah, better with with Minkaian related Archetype or Minkai green tea.

3) Ruby Phenix AP is also Tian Xia Adventure Path.

[Novem]

Laclale♪ wrote:

Novem wrote:

2) Tian Xia - Age of Lost Omens: A Tian Xia sourcebook that goes over all the different nations and cultures of Tian Xia, with a dive into the territory as thorough as the one for the Mwangi Expanse.

3) A(nother) Tian Xia Adventure Path: Preferably something mystical and that actually takes place entirely with Tian Xia, maybe with some traveling too. Like the players could get a boat and go between a bunch of islands in a battle against some type of ancient curse.

2) Yeah, better with with Minkaian related Archetype or Minkai green tea.

3) Ruby Phenix AP is also Tian Xia Adventure Path.

I want to love Ruby Phoenix, I'm just not big on tournaments. I want a more lore and mystery-driven storyline, something more spiritual or mystical. I'd even love something more political and emotional, a bit like the Stormblood Expansion from FF14. Those are the parts of asian fantasy that most captures my imagination as a player and a GM.

[Onkonk]

Yeah, although I love Ruby Phoenix it is much more the "anime tournament AP" rather than exploring Tian Xia. There are of course Tian Xia elements in it but the culture of the region do take a bit of a backseat compared to the tournament themes.

[Ly'ualdre]

Agreed. There's much more to the Tian-Xia I would love to explore. I echo the desire to see an AP (or few) that take place in Tian-Xia and aren't about a martial arts tournament.

[keftiu]

Where in Tian Xia do folks want to see in an AP? One about war between the three main Successor States would look very different from one about trying to liberate Wanshou, and both would look super different from one where you help Tianjing with an invasion of qlippoth.

[Ly'ualdre]

All of those sound great! Although, I think the Wanshou one could work as a Module I feel.

The idea of an AP pitting the True Scions of Lung Wa would be absolutely amazing!! My immediate thought is to have the PCs attempt to not only stop the war, but also perhaps put them at odds with an evil fourth party who was secretly the cause of the conflict to begun with.

What I would prefer here is a special AP that is basically just Fire Emblem Three Houses, in so far as your group has the choice of supporting Lingshen, Po Li, or Quain during the conflict, and their are essentially three different paths through the AP that all eventually either result in a completely different outcome, or ends on the same note after it is said and done. Would basically be a choose your own adventure kind of thing, and could be one of Paizo's most unique and robust APs ever.

A Tianjing Qlippoth Invasion would also be really cool. The Qlippoth are rather underutilized when compared to the other groups of Fiends.

Something in Minkai involving the Kami of the Forest of Spirts would be cool. Minata also has a lot of potential imo. I've always been fascinated by Xi Ha as well. Perhaps something involving an conflict between the Oni of Chu Ye and the Hobgoblin's of Kaoling could be an interesting take, with Xi Ha caught in the middle. And Najagor and the Veleshmai Jungle are ripe for adventure it think. As would be Xidao, if we ever see an underwater AP at any point.

[Novem]

keftiu wrote:

Where in Tian Xia do folks want to see in an AP? One about war between the three main Successor States would look very different from one about trying to liberate Wanshou, and both would look super different from one where you help Tianjing with an invasion of qlippoth.

I wouldn't want it to be anywhere specific. Rather, I want an island tour where the players are in charge of a boat and have to command a voyage from one end of Minata to the other. It could even have a hexploration focus similar to the one in Quest for the Frozen Flame, with each book being split into an exploration of different bits of the island chain that the players could visit it whatever their desired order. The adventure path could then have its climax when you reach Minkai. I'm not sure what it would be about or what would bring it all together, but Minata is such a diverse region that you could tell any number of different stories. And that'd be the cool part, on your voyage you'd stumble across all different sorts of people and challenges! It could be a bit like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis, where you have some type of goal that drives you through the island chain to some ultimate goal and having all sorts of little adventures along the way.

I'd also love something that focused primarily on the areas where the Kitsune live. Their lore is actually incredibly fascinating and rich with possibility, I'd love to visit locations like Kihime or the Chang Lio Jungle. Exploring the long-term consequences of the fall of the Lung Wa Empire. The ideas Ly'ualadre had sound amazing!

Long story short, I think Tian Xia has a rich variety of storytelling potential to mine and I don't necessarily mind which one they go for. I think all of them sound super interesting and fun.

[*Khan*]

A whole GM book only with traps and puzzles!!!!

A GM book called “afterlife” which gives options to let dead PC slowly turn into ghost, slimes, ghouls etc. and perhaps let the player fight the proces to keep their PC mind and personality. somewhat intact.

[Ly'ualdre]

*Khan* wrote:

A whole GM book only with traps and puzzles!!!!

A GM book called “afterlife” which gives options to let dead PC slowly turn into ghost, slimes, ghouls etc. and perhaps let the player fight the proces to keep their PC mind and personality. somewhat intact.

Book of the Dead will allow for PC Ghosties and Ghoulies, but I do like the idea of an afterlife book that maybe dives more so into the afterlife present within the other planes. Maybe make Petitioners playable!

[NECR0G1ANT]

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

[Ly'ualdre]

NECR0G1ANT wrote:

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

For most PCs, death is indeed the end. But while their life might be over, but afterlife has just begun. Book of the Dead is offering the potential to explore that by venturing into undeath. Something like this would have the potential to explore life after death amongst the Outer Planes. Your soul doesn't just stop existing. It goes on to take a number of forms, key among them being Petitioners. Petitioners than often go on to take on Immortal forms tied to the Deities they serve or the plane they reside. And since Rulebooks has a tendency to color the sort of APs and LO books we receive around their release, an AP where the PCs begin as nascent Petioners in the River of Souls and then, by adventures end, become some sort of Immortal being? That would be cool as Hell (more so if you are one of the Damned)!

[Perpdepog]

Not sure what book it would be in, but I'd really love rules for how to make your own animal companions. Mostly suggestions on reasonable abilities to grant an AC for its support benefit and advanced maneuver since the stats are pretty well fixed.

[Rude_]

Petitioner related book would be an interesting way to have planar campaigns. Instead of wealth the PC could work toward and focus on some goal or goals which lead to another phase of being for their soul.

[Ched Greyfell]

NECR0G1ANT wrote:

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

Anybody ever see that movie The Crow?

That'd be a cool concept. Someone who is not actually undead, per se. But who is sent back to fulfill a purpose.

[Ly'ualdre]

Ched Greyfell wrote:

NECR0G1ANT wrote:

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

Anybody ever see that movie The Crow?

That'd be a cool concept. Someone who is not actually undead, per se. But who is sent back to fulfill a purpose.

I would love to see something like D&D's Deathless in Pathfinder. Maybe flavor it as a Phantom, who are spirits of the dead, yet to be corrupt by undeath, but somehow you are bound to their actual dead remains?

Until then, I'd probably build this using a Duskwalker with the upcoming Zombie Archetype. Flavor it as you've been returned from the afterlife; only, not right.

[keftiu]

Ly'ualdre wrote:

Ched Greyfell wrote:

NECR0G1ANT wrote:

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

Anybody ever see that movie The Crow?

That'd be a cool concept. Someone who is not actually undead, per se. But who is sent back to fulfill a purpose.

I would love to see something like D&D's Deathless in Pathfinder. Maybe flavor it as a Phantom, who are spirits of the dead, yet to be corrupt by undeath, but somehow you are bound to their actual dead remains?

Until then, I'd probably build this using a Duskwalker with the upcoming Zombie Archetype. Flavor it as you've been returned from the afterlife; only, not right.

I think a lot of the cosmic mechanics of the Deathless carry over pretty cleanly; they're animated by positive energy, rather than the usual negative energy of most undead. This comes with benefits (they're not pulled towards Evil, the elven people retain access to the wisdom and counsel of their elders) and drawbacks (the Deathless cannot travel far beyond the area connected to Eberron's plane of positive energy and depend on worship). There's also the older D&D tradition of the baelnorn, who were non-Evil elven undead who protected important elven sites.

Duskwalker was also what I would recommend.

[Perpdepog]

Interestingly the Duskwalker's immunity to becoming an undead no longer seems to be a thing in 2E.

[Ly'ualdre]

Perpdepog wrote:

Interestingly the Duskwalker's immunity to becoming an undead no longer seems to be a thing in 2E.

I actually forgot about that bit. But I am glad it wasn't baked in. Makes for better story telling, imo. I would imagine much of that ward would come from Pharasma herself, since Duskwalkers are mortal. Seems like a lot of work to constantly spin such a ward on every Duskwalker within the multiverse. Granted, I suppose there could be a unique type of Psychopomp whose sole purpose is watching, guiding, and warding Duskwalkers. That would be an interesting idea.

The issue with bringing the Deathless forward from D&D: I am fairly certain they are wholly own by Wizard. So Paizo would have to create their own idea I think.

[Ravingdork]

Ched Greyfell wrote:

NECR0G1ANT wrote:

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

Anybody ever see that movie The Crow?

That'd be a cool concept. Someone who is not actually undead, per se. But who is sent back to fulfill a purpose.

Isn't this what the Revenant background is for?

[Sanityfaerie]

Ravingdork wrote:

Isn't this what the Revenant background is for?

Huh! I had not realized it was possible to get Negative Healing from a background. That has... possibilities.

Okay, a Rare background. Still.

...and now I find myself thinking about how many ways we could make someone undead. Hmmm...

[Ly'ualdre]

Ravingdork wrote:

Ched Greyfell wrote:

NECR0G1ANT wrote:

I like the idea of a petitioner ancestry, with different lineages for different types. Although I think that once someone becomes a petitioner, then their story's over.

Anybody ever see that movie The Crow?

That'd be a cool concept. Someone who is not actually undead, per se. But who is sent back to fulfill a purpose.

Isn't this what the Revenant background is for?

See, I knew my brain hadn't critically failed it's Lore check. I completely forgot that trait existed. I was thinking about the Revenant monster.

Honestly, I need to get better about including Backgrounds in my character concepts. They are one of the things I really loved was made core to the game, but forget about them all the time.

That said, I now know what I'll be playing in Outlaws of Alkenstar: A Revenant Human Duskwalker Pistolero, killed before the events of the AP, given a second chance at life by... something. Alive, yet somehow... wrong; and determined to find those responsible for the death of him and his family.