Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide

Paizo's latest add-on to its collection to its Pathfinder RPG line is the Advanced Race Guide (ARG). This is not a book for DIY would-be dictators to guide the master race to take over the world, but rather an in-depth exploration of the various character races available in the Pathfinder RPG and setting lines. I find it an interesting supplement, although not necessarily a must-have for everyone. GMs who want to tinker with their races for their homebrew worlds will definitely want a copy, as will players who want some more unusual race options (provided their GM allows the book of course). For those who largely stick to core material or don't do a lot of homebrewing or want to use unusual races, it may not be worth the expense (if in doubt, get the $10 .pdf). There is some degree of repetition of older material, as the ARG is to an extent a compilation of races featured in previous Paizo publications, although the purpose of the book is also of course to expand in depth upon them all. And of course there is an extensive section on how to build brand new races as well.

The ARG builds upon concepts originally introduced in Advanced Player's Guide (APG), and I would say that Paizo largely expects you to own and use the options in the APG if you want to use the ARG. The ARG uses alternate racial abilities, alternate racial favored class abilities, and archetypes, all introduced in the APG first, and the archetypes available include archetypes for the APG base classes as well as the base classes introduced in Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat. I take this as a blessing and a curse, a sign of "supplement bloat" to a degree. If you own and use all the options in the APG, then you'll have no problem further supplementing your games with the ARG. If you don't, the book may be largely useless to you. My own personal dilemma comes from the fact that I do not use any supplementary base classes in my home games, so all the archetypes that reference the APG, UM, or UC classes are useless to me and I feel like I have less content available to me. I realize there is a rock and a hard place situation here--if no prior supplementary material is referenced, then those who do use those materials also feel short changed. I will give Paizo credit that they explain what all the new concepts are so that if you don't own the APG you will still understand how the various alternate abilities and archetypes work, but this book, more than any other supplement to date, has rung to me as "you must have collected all four to be able to use this book properly." This situation is very much YMMV, and I point it out simply so that others may be aware.

The book is divided into four sections, the first three of which are basically variations on the same theme. Every race depicted in these three sections gets new alternate racial abilities, favored class abilities, archetypes, as well as race specific feats and equipment. There's also extensive flavor text for all races, and lovely art to accompany it.

The first section looks in depth at the core races, dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, half-elf, half-orc, and human. It expands upon their description text from the core rulebook, and it adds more alternate racial abilities and favored class options than what are listed in the APG, although what is listed in the APG is also repeated. Every core race now has a unique favored class option for every core and base class available in the game. Core races also get three new archetypes per race. I appreciated the extra detail in this section, although I did feel to a point like I was re-reading stuff I had already in the core rulebook or APG, but the new material is also valuable. I especially enjoyed most of the new feats and equipment.

The second section basically does the same thing for non-core but popular races for both PCs and NPCs, such as familiar "savage" humanoids like goblins, kobolds, and orcs, as well as the various races oldschoolers would collectively refer to as "planetouched," like tieflings and aasimar. This section goes into a little less detail--although what is there is still comprehensive, and each race has only two archetypes and less new material. Likewise the third section repeats the formula for very uncommon races, including a number of "animal-folk" like catfolk and tengu, as well as some unusual planar influenced races like the suli (jann-descended) and the wayang (shadow-descended). My understanding is a lot of these races originally appeared in Pathfinder setting material (I don't usually buy from the Companion or Chronicles lines so I can't speak to how much new is introduced). These uncommon races get only one archetype and again less information in general, but are still presented with well written descriptions. I did feel short changed on the amount of abilities--in particular, I think at least the races in the second section could have used more racial abilities and favored class options, to match the first chapter. I would have been willing to sacrifice some archetypes from the first or second chapters for the extra space. In fairness, for racial options, I generally prefer the alternate abilities to race-specific archetypes, but that's in part because I grew tired of racial class restrictions as far back as the 80s, and it's a concept I have no desire to see return to the descendants of AD&D.

The final section is the race builder, a system to allow GMs to build brand new races from scratch. It uses a point based system to build races, with "standard," "advanced," and "monstrous" races as categories for how many points you should use to build a certain race and how many abilities they may be able to have. The system includes a strong caveat that the race building rules are guidelines, and that the entire section is to be used at the GM's will and with the GM's discretion, which I do think must be borne strongly in mind by any and all users. I participated in the ARG playtest and review and I think the designers did take some of the most important feedback to heart -- for example, that not all core races needed to be shoehorned into a 10 point build, when obviously some core race abilities were truly more or less valuable than what the developers originally tried to assign them to be to make them fit a mold that they'd never been put into in the first place. This makes some of the point costs and assignments more sensible than they were than in the playtest, and at least I am fine with the fact that some core races come out to more or less than 10 points. From what I recall from the playtest, I think few will protest.

Still, I wish more player feedback from the playtest had been taken into consideration for the final product. My particular, though minor, peeve is that there are too many too-specific abilities -- a racial ability that grants you the ability to work with stone, but no such thing for working, say, with metal or clay or leather. Of course you can substitute in such things yourself, but I would have preferred many of the choices to have been made more generic to begin with, rather than force us to wing it in a system that already presumes a fair amount of "winging" to start with.

Nonetheless, it is a solid system that will give race tinkerers a lot of content to work with--again as long as all is taken as firm guidelines than laser-etched rules. I also like that the section provides some advice for how to deal with races of different power levels. Since Pathfinder did away with the problematic "level adjustment" concept from 3.5, the race builder rules offer different alternatives for having very racially "mixed" adventuring parties. The basic rule of thumb is generally to take a powerful race and remove abilities so that they match core more closely, or alternately to use the race builder to add abilities to weaker races so they are better balanced with stronger ones. Some may not like the idea as much as I do, but I appreciate firmly getting away from the character level issue entirely.

Production-wise, the book matches the high standard of quality that other PFRPG hardcover books meet. It is a good length, printed cleanly and clearly on glossy pages with beautiful artwork that enhances but does not distract from the text. The spine is solid enough, and I ordered mine from Paizo directly, whose dutiful golems placed corner protectors all over the book so there was no chance of it getting battered in shipping. My one layout nitpick is that for each race listed, the standard racial abilities are listed in a separate box at the bottom of the page. The way the pages are designed, it is very easy to read the race's description and then go straight into alternate racial abilities before you've managed to read the standard racial ones first, and makes it hard to cross reference between the two.

The ARG is a very nice supplement, with a well-organized and vast amount of information on Pathfinder character races. While I wouldn't consider it required reading, if character racial options are what's up your alley, then it's THE go-to sourcebook for Pathfinder.

Suikod20: Overview and Runes

First of all, I realize I should probably provide an outline of the general stuff that is being or will be worked on in this project so you can see how it all goes together. It is here (copy-paste the link):

[Sorry, the link is broken. If you know me, you know how to contact me for the documents should you want to look at them. If you don't know me, for privacy purposes I am sorry I cannot help you at this time.]

Second of all, I have finished a new draft of the Runes and Rune Spells Document. This document contains only spell runes at the moment. It is almost 50 pages. Holy heck.

[Sorry, the link is broken. If you know me, you know how to contact me for the documents should you want to look at them. If you don't know me, for privacy purposes I am sorry I cannot help you at this time.]

This system is largely the crux of what will—or won’t—make “Suikod20” work. I already wrote this up once and then thoroughly revised (my long suffering comrade-in-game-system-scheming Allen had a look at an earlier draft—much is changed since then). Believe it or not, the system I had earlier for how you determine caster progression and caster level was more stupidly complex than it is now.

Caster progression still needs to be fixed. I think overall, everyone needs more spells per day (because I realized that while there’s some nice flexibility of the runes, even the best spellcasters will only be able to have “12 known spells” at a time, effectively (if 3 spell runes are equipped, right hand, left hand, and forehead). The advancement also needs to be adjusted so that 2nd tier spells can’t be cast earlier than 4th/5th level, 3rd tier spells till 6th/7th level, etc. You’ll see further notes on this in the section. Ideas for an algorithm to determine this—or hell, take a crack at it yourself (PLEASE, I can’t add 2 and 2)—are very welcome.

As for the runes and their spells, I figured out very quickly that if there was a discernible pattern to how Konami determined what made something a high or low tier spell or how a rune balanced with other runes, I certainly couldn’t find it. As you will note, I took a basic guideline for what a given rune spell’s comparative spell level to PFRPG spells was and ran with it. I am far more concerned with comparable balance—maybe too much? I don’t know. Read through and see.

Most spells for runes were done this way:
1. Look up what the spell did in Suikoden
2. Determine rough comparable spell level
3. Look through core and APG spells. If found very appropriate analogue, used that, with edits where necessary.
4. If no existing spell, try to make a spell that mimics the video game spell’s abilities as reasonably as possible while also working well with PF game mechanics and seem of the appropriate spell level.

Note that I tried to remember to note on spells if they were of a descriptive subtype, like “fire” or “death”—and frequently, I forgot. If you note something should have a noted subtype (to help determine whether someone is resistant to it), please write it in.

I have copious notes in the whole section about where I derived a spell from (the APG came out between the first draft and this draft, and kindly provided lovely spell sources I didn’t have before) and loads of uncertainty about how a spell should play out. Ample feedback desired.

This is a lengthy document so I do not expect fast turnaround; anything you can offer is much appreciated.

Suiko d20 Project 1.

I am working on a system called "Suikod20"--which is an attempt to make a tabletop ruleset for games set in the universe of the Suikodenseries of games. I am using the Pathfinder Reference Document, an OGL-based system, as the backbone for the rules. The power level of core Pathfinder classes and races and unique-to-Pathfinder systems such as combat maneuvers I feel suit well this project (and I really like the Pathfinder roleplaying game).

I do not own the IP to Suikoden so I can't just up and claim this all as mine and OGL and whatnot, but this is a fan work with no effort as being proprietary and no profit is being made from this. I've done my best to avoid referencing IP-specific material as much as possible so you could take anything that is not obviously IP-stamped and use it for your own purposes.

As I work on the documents, I am posting them here for reference and comment. This is VERY alpha/beta and all suggestions are welcome.

We start with the races.

Suikod20 Races

Suikod20 uses the following races. Other races, from the PRD or elsewhere, are not available without the GM’s permission.

Beaverfolk: Described in the document below
Duckfolk: Described in the document below
Dwarves: As written in the PRD, with a change noted in this document
Elves: As written in the PRD, with two changes noted in this document
Humans: As written in the PRD
Kobolds: Described in the document below; NOT the Kobolds in the PRD
Lizardfolk: Described in the document below; NOT the Lizardfolk in the PRD
Merfolk: Described in the document below; NOT the Merfolk in the PRD
Nekobolds: Described in the document below
Wingers: Described in the document below

A note on languages: No languages/bonus languages are noted in the following racial descriptions. The games which inspired this write up seldom worried about language barriers, save for very ancient languages, and I have no basis upon which to base possible languages. If you wish to use a language system, assume a different language for each race (and/or major region), and that everyone can speak a common human tongue.

Beaverfolk
Beaverfolk are squat, very furry humanoids with buck teeth and an affinity for craftsmanship and engineering.
+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: Beaverfolk are sturdy and absolutely brilliant planners and engineers, but they are also isolationist and eccentric.
Small: Beaverfolk are Small creatures and get a +1 size bonus to attacks, Armor Class, and a +4 bonus to Stealth.
Slow Speed: Beaverfolk have a base speed of 20 feet.
Low Light Vision: Beaverfolk can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
Dam Good Swimmers: Beaverfolk have a Swim speed of 20 feet; see the description of the Swim skill for more details. They can also hold their breath for 3 rounds per point of Constitution rather than the usual 2.
Beaver Blood: Any effect with the word “Beaver” in the description applies to them.
Weapon Familiarity: Beavers treat any weapon with the word “Beaver” in the title as a martial weapon.
Busy as a...: Beaverfolk are tremendously talented woodworkers, and get a +2 racial bonus to Craft checks related to working with wood, and a +2 racial bonus to Appraise and Knowledge: Engineering checks related to wooden items or construction. If four or more beaverfolk work on a wooden construction project together, they halve the time it takes to produce the final item.
Bucktooth Tempest: Beaverfolk can chew through wood (though they do not eat it) and can cut or damage wood with their teeth as if they were using a weapon or tool to do so.

Duckfolk
At first glance, duckfolk indeed appear to be unusually big white ducks—until one notices they are wearing clothes and speaking. These humanoids are practical folk who dwell in marshy areas and are surprisingly good at defending their territory. While their arms have a wing-like appearance, they cannot fly, and these limbs end in functional, if feathered, hands.
+2 Constitution,+2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity: Duckfolk are hardy, sensible, and alert. Their wing-like arms and short webbed feet prevent them from great feats of agility, however.
Small: Duckfolk are Small creatures, gaining a +1 size bonus to Attack and Armor Class, and a +4 size bonus to Stealth.
Slow Speed: Duckfolk have a base speed of 20 feet.
Able Swimmers: Duckfolk have a Swim speed of 30 feet; see the description of the Swim skill for more details.
Down with the Ironheads!: Used to defending their lands from human conquerors, usually knights who are heavily armored and mounted, duckfolk have learned how avoid harm and exploit such enemies’ weaknesses. They get a +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class and Combat Maneuver defense versus mounted opponents. They also gain a +2 racial bonus to trip, disarm, and sunder attempts against opponents in heavy armor.
Marshdwellers: Duckfolk get a +4 to all Survival checks in marsh terrain.
Duckfolk Blood: Any effect with the word “Duck” in the description applies to them.

Dwarves
Dwarves dwell deep underground all over the world, mining the world’s rich mineral resources.

Their stats are as they are in the PRD, with the following exceptions:
- Remove the abilities Defensive Training and Hatred
- Add the Stoneworker and Expert Digger abilities, described below:

Stoneworker: Dwarves are known for their superior craftsmanship when it comes to metal and stone works. Dwarves with this racial trait receive a +2 racial bonus on all Craft or Profession checks that create objects from metal or stone.

Expert Digger: Dwarves are constantly digging out new mines, and are as excellent as destroying old structures and clearing paths as they are at building new things. They gain a +2 bonus to Strength checks and Sunder attempts when breaking items made of stone or iron, and they can dig in earth or stone at twice the rate any other humanoid can.

Elves
Elves are the world’s aloof forest guardians; they can make excellent allies and fearsome enemies.

Their stats are as they are in the PRD, with the following exceptions:
- Remove the abilities Elven Immunities and Elven Magic
- Add the Forest Guardian and Oaken Will abilities, described below:

Forest Guardian: Elves are alert scouts and silent protectors of their home forests. They get a +1 racial bonus to Initiative checks and +2 bonus to Stealth checks; these bonuses double when in forest terrain. They additionally get a +2 Climb bonus when climbing trees.

Oaken Will: Stubborn in the extreme and impatient with younger races that do not understand their slow way of thinking, the steadfast spirit of the forest has imbued elves with resistance to all sorts of mind-influencing magic and other effects (and to new ideas). Elves get a +1 racial bonus to all Will saves.

Kobold
Kobolds are about the same size and build as humans, except they have canine heads and are covered in short, soft fur. They seem to have many “breeds” as dogs do—some kobolds have stout faces and crinkled noses, others have floppy ears and long noses, with many different fur colorations and markings. They are social, loyal, and hard workers. (Obviously not to be confused with the lizard-like kobolds in the prd)
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence: Kobolds are powerfully built and very “pack” driven, but slightly lacking in analytical skills.
Medium: Kobolds are medium-sized creatures and do not gain any bonuses or penalties due to size.
Normal Speed: Kobolds have a base speed of 30 feet.
Weapon Familiarity: Kobolds make excellent soldiers, and many have trained in the local army or mercenary legion. They can choose one martial weapon in which they become proficient, on top of any other proficiencies they gain from their class.
Low Light Vision: Kobolds can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
Keen Noses: Kobolds get a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks, and they have the Scent creature ability.
Pack Mentality: Kobolds naturally think in ways how they can help each other and their allies. When they succeed on an Aid Another check, they add +3 to the bonus rather than +2.
Kobold Blood: Any effect with the world “Kobold” in the description applies to them.

Lizardfolk
The Lizard Clan defends their cave homes with great zeal. They have a strong code of honor, and are very quick to anger and to violence.
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence: Lizardfolk are very strong and quite alert, but they are not tacticians.
Medium: Lizardfolk are medium-sized creatures and do not gain any bonuses or penalties due to size.
Normal Speed: Lizardfolk have a base land speed of 30 feet.
Low Light Vision: Lizardfolk can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: All lizardfolk are proficient in the longspear, halberd, and glaive.
Tough Hide: The lizardfolk’s reptilian scales give them a +2 natural armor bonus to Armor Class.
Reptilian Talons: Lizardfolk have clawed fingers and toes. These are not usually honed enough to use as natural weapons (and lizardfolk prefer the art of weaponry anyway) but they are good for gripping onto rock and wood, giving the lizardfolk a +2 racial bonus to Climb checks.
Balancing Tails: Lizardfolk use their tails to help keep their balance, and get a +4 bonus to Acrobatics checks to cross uneven ground or narrow surfaces without falling. They also get a +4 racial bonus to Combat Maneuver Defense versus Trip and Overrun attempts.

Merfolk
The elusive Merfolk live deep in the oceans, and while they often prefer to keep to themselves, gladly offer assistance to other races in times of crises. They are beautiful creatures, with delicate limbs covered in colorful scales and fins.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom: Merfolk are swift, graceful, and charming, but are also naive and unobservant.
Medium: Merfolk are medium-sized creatures and do not gain any bonuses or penalties due to size.
Slow Speed: Merfolk’s legs are adapted more to swimming than walking. They have a base speed of 20 feet.
Darkvision: Merfolk can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
Aquatic: Merfolk have the aquatic subtype and swim at a speed of 50 feet; see the Swim skill for more details.
Amphibious: Despite being aquatic creatures, merfolk can breathe underwater and on land with ease.
Water Dependence: Although they can survive on land, merfolk need to be submerged in water for at least an hour a day or their scales dry, giving them a -2 penalty to all Constitution and Dexterity based checks until they can soak in water for at least an hour.
Protective Scales: Merfolk have a +1 natural armor bonus to Armor Class.
Weapon Familiarity: Merfolk are proficient in the light and heavy crossbow, the trident, and the net.

Nekobold
Nekobolds are human sized with proportionally sized heads very similar to those of domestic cats. They are covered in soft fur and have small, retractable claws at the ends of their fingers. They are friendly islander folk, and valuable on ships where their many skills come in handy.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom: Nekobolds are as swift as other felines, and are attractive and amiable creatures. They are very impulsive, however.
Medium: Nekobolds are medium-sized creatures and do not gain any bonuses or penalties due to size.
Normal Speed: Nekobolds have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low Light Vision: Nekobolds can see twice as far as humans in conditions of poor illumination.
Keen Senses: Nekobolds have excellent senses and get a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks.
Kobold Blood: Any effect with the world “Kobold” in the description applies to them.
Catlike Grace: Nay-Kobolds get a +2 racial bonus to Stealth checks and to Acrobatics checks related to balance.
Ratcatchers: While they are much larger than true cats, Nekobolds are excellent at finding and destroying vermin and creatures often found invading food stores. They get a +2 racial bonus to Perception, Survival, Attack, and Damage rolls when dealing with any creature of the vermin subtype as well as with the following animals: mice, rats, and dire rats. This bonus may be extended to other rodent-like creatures at the GM’s discretion.
Retractable Claws: Nekobolds have tiny claws which they can release and use to fight with as natural weapons. However, the little claws do less damage for their size than other medium sized creatures, dealing only 1d3 damage per claw attack. Extending or retracting the claws takes a swift action. If the claws are retracted, Nekobolds are considered unarmed.

Winger
Wingers appear to be human, save for the long, dark wings sprouting from their backs and their taloned feet. Rare creatures in the world, they are proud of their differences and relative uniqueness.
+2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma: Wingers are agile, but come off as arrogant, eccentric, or creepy.
Medium: Wingers are medium sized and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to size.
Normal Speed: Wingers have a walking speed of 30 feet.
Wings: Wingers are aptly named, and have a fly speed of 50 feet (average maneuverability). See the Fly skill for more information.
Fast Talkers: Wingers get a +2 racial bonus to Bluff checks.

Greetings and the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide

Hello, my name is DeathQuaker and I am a gamer geek. Like many of my fellow gamers, I like being able to mouth off about games and other things I like, and thus this blog has come to be. My hope is to use it to publish occasional thoughts and articles on my gaming experiences and reviews of game products I've enjoyed (or not, as the case may be). I do have a livejournal (DeathQuaker Has an Opinion) but decided to put my gaming materials over here specifically.

And to start off with a bang, I received my .pdf of Paizo's Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide this week! And WOW is it amazing!

By way of prologue: I have been playing the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game since its open beta, and loving every minute of it. I was one of the gamers who loved D&D 3.0/3.5 but agreed it needed some tweaking--but at the same time, I was disappointed by the direction Wizards of the Coast chose to take with 4e. Paizo made the changes I was particularly looking for in its Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, a revision of 3.5 that focused on boosting and re-leveling core race and class power, rebalancing and adding new feats, and overhauling the skill system to make it even easier to build the fantasy characters I envisioned. By no means will I say Pathfinder is for everyone, but the system serves particularly my fantasy gaming needs extremely well, and I've been delightedly running a high-level Pathfinder game over the past year.

The Advanced Player's Guide is Paizo's one-book answer, in many ways, to the "Complete" series of 3rd Edition. Overflowing with alternate abilities and builds for races and classes, new classes, new prestige classes, feats, spells, and other mechanics, it allows experienced Pathfinder players to take their game to an even higher level of character customizability and complexity than even what the core rulebook provides. I think this is the first time I have found that the advertising copy didn't hyperbolize the content of a gaming supplement--if anything, the marketing understates what is in this book, if only because describing how very much is in this book is very difficult to do.

Most Pathfinder players are already aware of the six new classes in the book, as Paizo ran an open playtest of the Alchemist, Cavalier, Inquisitor, Oracle, Summoner, and Witch classes presented. The final versions take the originality of the beta classes and have successfully polished them to an effective shine--they are potent classes on their own, and will work well in many settings along with the core classes; they also help fill niches for more exotic fantasy settings where, for example, your pointy-hat wizard seems out of place, but a pact-magic witch would do just fine.

I have to say though, that the new classes are the least of what I'm really interested in for the APG (well-written though they are). My current campaign works with the core rules and the new classes don't have much of a place in my homebrew setting for right now. However, the APG spends a great deal of time taking what is core and also throwing it into all kinds of new directions, which is both more useful and very interesting to me. Every core race gets alternate class abilities (your campaign world has dwarves who war with elves rather than giants? Swap out "Hatred" for "Ancient Enmity" and be done with it). This allows for a bit of customization for campaigns and concepts without needing to rewrite whole new races. It also helps overcome some of the minorly annoying issues I've had with some of the standard racial abilities--for example, while I love that half-elves are good at multiclassing because of Adaptability, but what if I want to play a single class half-elf? There's a racial feature that's no use to me--the APG fixes that by offering a number of abilities to trade for that one.

Likewise classes get a number of alternate paths, trading a few class features for whole new ones. While the overall feel for the classes are unchanged, this allows trickier concepts to be built--without unnecessary and overwhelming class bloat. Want to play a swashbuckler, but the core Fighter/Rogue/Duelist didn't cover it for you? Both fighters and rogues have finesse and swashbuckling paths that make that a lot less fiddly. Want to play a monk of the "Drunken Master" style? Done. Want to abandon the disciplined monk entirely play a powerful brutish pugilist? There's a barbarian path that's perfect for you. Those who wanted to see the bard turned into more of an arcane warrior will be pleased, as will those who have been begging for an antipaladin. My only "problem" (and it's not really a "problem") is that I'm very tempted to call these alternate paths "kits" (if you don't get that joke, then you're probably much younger than I am).

I am disappointed by a few of the core class adjustments. While many of the classes get myriad new paths, Clerics and Wizards get left a bit in the dust. Perhaps that's only fair--they're pretty powerful and somewhat adaptable classes to start with. What they DO get is pretty neat--subdomains and subschools. Both of these swap in specific themed abilities into standard domains and arcane schools--for example, a cleric in an ancestral worship religion with the Repose domain can take the Repose "subdomain" of "Ancestor," swapping out one of the standard Repose abilities for the ability to speak with the dead. I like these, but these subdomains are all they get. Particularly for clerics, I would have liked to have seen some alternatives maybe for channeling energy. It would look less out of place, if, say, Barbarians only got new rage powers, but Barbarians get both new rage powers AND new alternate paths. Regardless, all the stuff that IS included is really exciting.

The APG also introduces several new mechanics--new combat maneuvers, like the dirty tricks maneuvers; Hero Points, which work a little like d20 Modern's Action points; and Traits. Well, Traits aren't exactly new--Paizo has used them in their campaign products for a long time now. The APG brings Traits officially to PFRPG--basically, they are "mini feats" that help customize your character further according to their history, religion, and home region. They aren't powerful, but are great ways to help reflect a character concept more thoroughly and effectively. On top of that, there are new feats, spells, and magic items I've only barely been able to pore through--many of which are to provide extra support for the new classes and alternate abilities presented in the book.

The only part I'm really disappointed in are the Prestige Classes. While I am not one of those people who wants a billion prestige classes, I do like to have a few meaningful ones to choose from when it seems appropriate. Prestige Classes help fill niches, and I'm personally not especially interested in the ones many of the APG PrCs provide. We have the Battle Herald, the Holy Vindicator, the Horizon Walker, the Master Chymist, the Master Spy, the Nature Warden, the Rage Prophet, and the Stalwart Defender.

The Horizon Walker is an update of the 3.5 core PrC--a class I'm not sure anyone needed an update; they beefed it up a little but the terrain mastery that is iconic to the Horizon Walker still seems very circumstantial. Likewise, the Stalwart Defender is a race-free update of the Dwarven Defender, and while statistically, it rounds out the class nicely, it's a little redundant to abilities available elsewhere. The Battle Herald is a Prestige Marshal, sort of a battlebard, which is cool, though again, I could probably build a Bard or Cavalier that does much of the same thing (indeed, I think the real purpose of the Battle Herald is to have something for the Cavalier to Prestige into, which seems antithetical to Pathfinder philosophy--base classes should be cool on their own, and you shouldn't need a prestige class for everyone). Likewise, the Master Chymist is just a prestige Alchemist and has no broader purpose.

I am most disappointed by the Holy Vindicator--it's a "holy warrior who is not a paladin" Prestige Class. It could be cool, but its key feature, stigmata--the class literally bleeds its powers--are a bit off-putting to me. Maybe it's just because I've never been able to find the perfect PrC for my Fighter-Cleric of the Goddess of Love, maybe I'm just taking it a bit personally. Or maybe it's that it's evocative of a particular religious imagery I'm not comfortable seeing mixed into fantasy. I'm not sure, to be honest; all I can say it sets me the wrong way.

The Nature Warden and Rage Prophet on the other hand are pretty cool, and allow for some unusual character types. My favorite of all of them by far is the Master Spy, which accomplishes what many roguish PrCs tried and failed to do: make a great infiltrator/investigator PrC.

What is also blindingly disappointing is that there are still very few prestige classes for sorcerers, wizards, and clerics that want to focus on spell casting, but want a little more flavor/specialization than the standard single class route can provide. I assume they're saving those for their PFRPG Magic book I know is in the works, but it would have been nice to have one or two things in the APG, especially as more are likely to buy the APG than the specialized Magic book (or maybe that's just me). And especially in place of lame ducks like the Horizon Walker.

All that said, the book is astoundingly full of wonderful things to learn and try, and is probably the best RPG purchase I've made this year--and I say this as a GM who tends to prefer "fluff" far more to "crunch"--but I think I even like this more than the Game Mastery Guide.

I do have to make one huge caveat--which is not a complaint, mind. The Advanced Player's Guide is called that for a reason. While the options offered are astounding--they are also massive, many, and overwhelming. I do not recommend this book to people just starting PFRPG, especially if they're relatively new to d20-based systems in general. It is a lot to take in, and I warn GMs to review it thoroughly before they decide to incorporate it into their games. Again, this is not a negative thing in and of itself--complexity is good and I am sure many Pathfinder players will delight in the new options the APG provides. But just be warned to take the title fully into account before you dive in.