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Hi all,
I've done some digging, but despite seeing community interest and an official Paizo response agreeing that it's a good idea, I haven't seen Class Road Maps for classes outside the Core rules. Please, LMK if I'm wrong as it will save a bit of work!
If you're unfamiliar, class road maps are a shortcut for making an NPC that is an approximation of a PC class.
So I figured the good people here could help me with the task. Below is my attempt at starting road maps for all the neglected classes. Based on the existing maps in the GMG, I'm pretty confident about my stats for perception, HP, primary ability and skill; I'm less confident on AC, secondary abilities and skills. And in most cases I feel the saves, attacks, damage and feats need work as I couldn't find much rhyme or reason in the design behind the existing road maps.
Gunslinger
Low to moderate HP; high skill based on Way; high Dex; high AC; low Will; high Reflex; moderate attack and extreme damage with guns; Slinger’s Reload; Initial Deed
Gunslinger way, feats associated with combat style (Sword and Pistol or Dual-Weapon Reload); Feats 2nd: Quick Draw; 4th: Paired Shots, Running Reload; 6th: Way Feat
Inventor
Low Perception; low to moderate HP; high Crafting; high Int; high AC (Extreme if Armor Innovation); Overdrive, Explode, Shield Block; add a construct to the encounter for construct innovation;
Inventor innovation, modifications to gear to reflect modifications; Feats 1st: Tamper, Haphazard Repair; 4th: Megaton Strike; 6th: Clockwork Celerity; 8th: Overdrive Ally
Investigator
Low to moderate HP; high Society, moderate skill based on Methodology, plus more skills than usual; high Int; low to moderate AC; high Will; moderate attack and low to moderate damage before strategic strike plus high or extreme damage with strategic strike; Strategic Strike, Devise a Stratagem, abilities from Methodology
Investigator methodology, Strategic Strike, Devise a Stratagem; Feats 1st: Known Weaknesses; 2nd: Athletic Strategist; 4th: Scalpel’s Point; Strategic Assessment; 8th: Blind Fight
Magus
Low Perception; low to moderate HP; high Arcana; high Str or Dex; high AC; low accuracy; high to extreme spell DC; prepared arcane spellcasting as a magus of their level; conflux spells; Spellstrike, Arcane Cascade
Magus hybrid studies abilities and conflux spell; Feats 1st: Raise a Tome; 2nd: Expansive Spellstrike; Spell Parry; 4th: Hybrid Study feat; Steady Spellcasting; 6th: Attack of Opportunity
Oracle
Low Perception; low to moderate HP; high Religion; moderate mystery skill; high Cha; high Will, low Reflex; low accuracy; high to extreme spell DC; spontaneous divine spellcasting as an oracle of their level; revelation spells
Oracle mystery benefit; Feats 1st: Reach Spell; 2nd: Divine Aegis; 4th: Bespell Weapon; 6th: Steady Spellcasting
Psychic
Low Perception; low HP; high Occult; high Int or Cha; low AC; low Fortitude, high Will; low accuracy; high to extreme spell DC; spontaneous occult spellcasting as a psychic of their level; psi cantrips and amps, Unleash Psyche, Conscious mind and Unconscious mind
Psyche action; Feats 1st: Counter Thought; 2nd: Psi Burst, Warp Space; 4th Psi Strikes, Violent Unleash; 6th: Inertial Barrier, Steady Spellcasting
Summoner
Low Perception; moderate to high Eidolon skills; high Cha; low AC; low Reflex; high Will; spontaneous spellcasting (determined by the type of eidolon) as a summoner of their level; link spells; add an eidolon to the encounter of the appropriate type; Manifest Eidolon, Share Senses, Act Together
Summoner Feats 1st: Energy Heart; 2nd: Reinforce Eidolon; 4th: Defend Summoner, Tandem Movement; 6th: Eidolon's Opportunity, Tandem Strike
Swashbuckler
High Dex; high Acrobatics and skill based on Style; high AC; high Reflex; low Will; moderate attack and low to moderate damage without panache plus high or extreme damage with panache; Confident Finisher,
Swashbuckler Feats 1st: Focused Fascination, Nimble Dodge; 2nd; Antagonize, Charmed Life; 4th: Impaling Finisher, Twin Parry; 6th:
Thaumaturge
Low to moderate HP; moderate Arcana, Nature, Occult, and Religion; high Cha; high AC; high Fortitude; low Reflex; Exploit Vulnerability, Implement, Implement’s Empowerment
Thaumaturge initiate benefit; Feats 1st: Divine Disharmony; 2nd: Esoteric Warden, Turn Away Misfortune; 4th: Instructive Strike
Witch
Low Perception; low HP; high skill based on Patron; high Int; low AC; low Fortitude; low accuracy; high to extreme spell DC; prepared spellcasting (determined by their patron) as a witch of their level; hexes; add a familiar to the encounter
Witch Feats 1st: Counterspell; 2nd: Basic Lesson;
Comments/suggestions are encouraged and I'll update these to incorporate input. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback!
I agree 100%, a standard format would make this a lot clearer... I am working from the core class road maps in the GMG:
Any statistic that isn’t specifically listed can use moderate numbers.
Which is inconsistent itself, because they also use Moderate stats in several roadmaps. And they aren't very balanced, some roadmaps have more High and Extreme stats, so you might want to give them a Low in something that isn't listed.
Maybe, as part of this little project, I'll expand them to include all stats following the general guidelines for creating NPCs/Creatures in the GMG... when I have the time!
I've updated these a bit after some analysis. First I'll post the criteria that I used for the missing Road Maps (based on the existing ones and supplemented by looking at some NPC examples). Next, I'll post the Road-maps as tables so they are formatted consistently. I still want to look at more example NPCs to hone some of the stats. And finally, I will look closer at class abilities and feats.
Ability Modifiers
Use High for the class’ Key Ability modifier, Moderate +/-1 for one or two secondary abilities, and Low or Lower (+0/-1) for the rest.
Perception
Start with Low. If the class has Expert training in Perception at 1st level, or Wis is their secondary stat, bump it up to Moderate. If Wis is High, or the class has Expert training and access to precision damage, Perception is High.
Skills
Any skills granted by their class are typically High and those granted by a subclass can be Moderate to High depending on the Key Ability. One or two additional skills to support their role can be Moderate or even High if they use the Key Ability. A handful of skills in the Low or lower range can be added if they make sense to the NPC.
AC
Low AC typically fits spellcasters. Most martial NPCs use High. Bump it up by a level if they use a shield. The rest are Moderate.
Saves
Low Fort is common for most spellcasters. Some may balance this with a High Will. Higher AC from armor is often offset by Low Ref. Dex, Con, or Wis should inform the corresponding save. No more than one High and/or one Low save. The rest are Moderate +/-1.
HP
HP closely corresponds to the class' HP per level. Low for 6, Low to Moderate for 8, Moderate for 10, and High for 12.
Strike Attack and Damage
Spellcasters usually have a Low Strike Bonus, highly specialized martial classes may be High, and all others are Moderate. Strike damage is usually Low (or lower) for casters, High for martial classes, and moderate for the rest, though Extreme damage is possible using class abilities like Rage.
Spell DC
Spellcasters typically have High to Extreme Spell DC and Attack Bonus. More combat oriented casters will stay closer to the High value. Spells granted by ancestry may have moderate modifiers.
... Couldn't paste my table, so I guess I'll just share the file: