This invaluable hardcover player reference for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game provides a wealth of new ideas and options for players, including six completely new 20-level character classes, expanded rules for the 11 core classes, innovative new feats and combat abilities, a wealth of fantastic equipment, dozens of new spells, and more! New Classes in the Advanced Player’s Guide include: The Alchemist, The Cavalier, The Inquisitor, The Oracle, The Summoner, and The Witch.
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Jason Bulmahn is the Lead Designer of Paizo Publishing and the author of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He has worked for Paizo since 2004 and has contributed to dozens of books for both Paizo and Wizards of the Coast. His work has won one Origins Awards and eleven ENnies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must-have expansion to Pathfinder,
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This review is from: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player's Guide (Hardcover)
The Pathfinder RPG's latest offering is an excellent addition to the game: a must-have. This book is very similar to the splatbooks that Wizards of the Coast (WotC) released for D&D 3.5, but without being confined to a small group of classes (and, frankly, without the garbage). The primary expanded areas are the addition of six new base classes, additional feats, additional class options, additional racial options, spells, prestige classes and combat options.The class and racial options are primarily substitution-based. They work on the principal of swapping a power for another, in most cases. This feels a lot better to me than defining a new race that is marginally different and trying to shoehorn them into an existing campaign world, as WotC has done many times. As for the class options, the substitutions are usually a package. The Ranger is expanded by adding several new combat styles (which I love, by the way), for example. The cleric options are the addition of subdomains, which are easy to integrate becaus the existing domains each have 2-3 associated subdomains which swap domain powers. I've always loved the idea of customizing characters, and I feel this book really opens up possibilities. The new classes are excellent. I admit that I am not crazy about the Alchemist, but the others are top-notch. The remaining additions are the Cavalier (a fighter-type with bardic powers, focusing on challenging single foes and inspiring friends), the Inquisitor (a deity-sworn hunter), the Summoner (class focused on summoning a pet; think World of Warcraft Warlock), the Oracle (a divination-themed spontaneous divine caster) and the Witch (a hex-throwing caster whose familiar is her living spellbook). I honestly could see playing any one of these and having a blast, particularly the Inquisitor and the Witch. These all have distinct roles, none of which seem to step on the toes of existing classes. Their power also seems in sync with the other PFRPG classes (unlike the classes in the WotC splatbooks). The feats and prestige classes, while largely obligatory in a book of this type, avoid cheesiness. They expand the game well, and they make sure that the new base classes have the options the core ones were provided. Also of note are teamwork feats. WotC has offered these before, and basically, they are feats that are only useful when an ally has the same feat. I have always ignored these feats outright, but Pathfinder has made it so that two of the new base classes (Inquisitor and Cavalier) utilize these and either allow a player to grant use of one (a Cavalier power) or make so that your character acts as though your allies had the feat (Inquisitor). Without integration like these, these feats would largely be a waste of space. The prestige classes largely give advancement potential for new base classes, though some are the remaining PFRPG equivalents of the base 3.5 prestige classes (from the D&D 3.5 Dungeon Master's Guide). All said, I feel this book was worth every cent. I fully expect to use some of these options the next time I make a Pathfinder character. This book exemplifies the PFRPG's commitment to quality gaming material, and I recommend it highly.
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great addition for any Pathfinder game, but not perfect,
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This review is from: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player's Guide (Hardcover)
The APG adds a ton of new options for players, including new base classes, alternate class features for older base classes, new feats, spells, prestige classes, and so on. There's also new items, magical equipment, and optional rules for groups that want to change things up a little bit. The best part is that overall they're very well balanced; I could complain that some of the options are a little underpowered, actually, but nothing sticks out to me as being overpowered (certainly nothing comes as close as, say, Candles of Invocation, which are in the core rulebook!).Pathfinder seems to be taking an opposite approach from 3.5 D&D to some class balance issues; in 3.5, most of the base classes were terribly weak beyond the low levels, and there was no reason to not go into prestige classes as soon as possible. Pathfinder has significantly improved upon the base classes and toned down the prestige classes, to the point that in some cases there is little reason to take levels in a particular prestige class unless you just really like the flavor of it. My most significant complaint is that some of the new options seem redundant. The oracle, for example, in terms of mechanics is very much like a cleric but just not as good. The flavor of the class is nice, sure, but flavor and mechanics can be kept separate; there's nothing stopping somebody from putting "cleric" on their character sheet but dressing up as and calling themselves an oracle in-game. Summoner has a similar problem in that it's just too similar to the basic wizard class; they have a fun, unique mechanic, but it seems like it could have easy been done as a prestige class for wizards instead. On the other hand, alchemist, witch, and cavalier are fine classes, even if the cavalier may have difficulty fitting into campaigns that aren't mount-friendly. Inquisitors are a fun concept, but seem mechanically weak; they're jacks-of-all-trades, so they suffer the same problem that bards do in that they're masters of none, except that a well-built bard /can/ be a master of various trades. So far there doesn't really seem to be a lot of options for Inquisitors to focus themselves, but hopefully that will come in future books. In an embarrassing gaffe, one of the Inquisitor's higher-level abilities is actually completely useless because it refers to a mechanic the pre-release version of the class had that was removed from the final version. The optional class features for the old base classes are generally pretty great. Reminiscent of 2nd edition D&D's kits, you can swap various class abilities in order to change the focus of the class. Every class gets a lot of fun options; for example, there's a Sniper variant for rogues where they become worse at trapfinding but better at ranged combat, and they can increase the range in which they can sneak attack. Monks get the class Drunken Master option that makes them more powerful as they become inebriated. Another option of note is anti-paladin, which is, to be blunt, disappointing. It's basically a copy of the paladin class that replaces "good" with "evil" and "law" with "chaos." They're perfectly functional characters, mechanically, but I feel let down that nothing was done to make them feel unique rather than just an evil clone. The new feats, spells, and prestige classes are all pretty nice. I just wish there were more prestige classes, really; there's eight of them, and they're all pretty interesting, although many of them have a very narrow focus that makes them only viable for specific character builds. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just leaves me wanting more. As mentioned earlier, my only real complaint here is that some of them feel a little weak; they all have some kind of tradeoff, and it's hard to tell if it's worth it. The Holy Vindicator, for example, is a really cool concept for melee-oriented clerics, but over 10 levels they only get 7 levels of improved spellcasting, and, of course, it doesn't advance cleric domains at all. Their abilities are nice, but honestly I don't think they make up for losing 10 levels of domain progression and 3 levels of spellcasting. Nonetheless, it's not /too/ bad a tradeoff, and I could definitely see myself doing it for flavor reasons. Then there's the Stalwart Defender, which is mostly a clone of the 3.5 Dwarven Defender, down to the fact that they're weak against enemies who just ignore them and walk past them. They get a lot of defensive abilities, but no offensive abilities, and unlike World of Warcraft, in Pathfinder monsters have no reason to concentrate on a player who isn't actually a threat. I probably sound like I'm complaining a lot, but I really do like a lot of them, particularly the Master Chymist; they have sort of a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on, where they actually develop a separate personality that can take over when they combat and force them to mutate. Anyway, overall this is a great book, and every Pathfinder group will want to have at least one to share amongst the players. Sometimes it feels like Paizo was trying to play it a little /too/ safe and ended up making some options not as strong as the rest, but the concepts and flavor are great throughout the book.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best RPG Supplement Yet!,
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This review is from: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player's Guide (Hardcover)
As an unrepentant nerd, I don't have an issue saying that I've got a few pen & paper games under my belt. I've played everything Wizards of the Coast came out with since 2000, have a fair bit of experience of AD&D, and some other, less prominent games as well. Chances are, if you're looking at this book, you've already played Paizo Publishing's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, a game which many consider to be the spiritual successor to the Dungeons & Dragons saga. This book, in addition to presenting six new base classes to entice you with, also has taken the core classes (Barbarian through Wizard) and given each, on average about ten, ways to customize those base classes to whatever it is you've been dreaming of seeing your character doing. Do you like the ranger, but also like Animorphs? Now, you can take the ranger and turn him into an animal shape-shifter! Are you a fan of the paladin, but never find yourself using his small spell list? Trade spell-casting in for an aura of light that provides aid to you and your allies using the Warrior of the Holy Light archetype! Other options include the Drunken Master Monk, the court bard, the rake rogue, a slew of sub domains for clerics, new bloodlines for sorcerers, and sub-schools for wizards. There's something for every class.Next, this book almost doubles the list of available feats. Remember that scene in Lord of the Rings where Legolas is firing arrows at the orc horde and suddenly takes an arrow and stabs an enemy that gets too close, before loading that same arrow and firing again? There's a feat for that. Do you like casting acid arrow at that demon over yonder, but hate his unnaturally lucky spell resistance rolls? Take another stab at evil when your spell bounces off and hits the next nearby enemy! Do you like playing the halfling, but are sick of being seen as just a half-pint? Do you love your half-orc, but hate the stares the commoners throw at her? Take the feat that lets you pass for human! Or embrace your heritage and give them something to stare at when you take a feat that gives your tusks enough of an edge to be considered weapons in their own right! New prestige classes abound in this book. From the Battle Herald, a bardic cavalier that leads her allies to victory through inspiration and mounted prowess, to the Rage Prophet, a touch of Old Testament prophets that mean business for their god. If you like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you'll love the Master Chymist Prestige class, built especially as a nice item for the Alchemist class (presented earlier in the book). This book doesn't skimp on spells either. It's tough to go through and list the variety of options presented, but just know that there are spells for every class. Equipment has been added in as well, from the practical to the insane, you'll find that it isn't left wanting. The book also takes the opportunity to add new rules to the game system, all optional. The developers said that this is a supplement. It's a compendium of advanced rules that can add flavor to a game. All in all, it's a very complete book that provides variant options that almost everyone can enjoy and benefit from. It's one of the most complete supplemental books released for a Pen & Paper RPG to date and it's also earns every dime you spend on it. Unlike some previous addition "splat books" you won't feel like your money could have better been spent elsewhere. The Paizo team worked hard on this, taking in feedback from its user base (they beta released all the classes for anyone on the Paizo messageboard community to test and weigh in on) and built a masterpiece.
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