Pathfinder, Phase 2
Phase 2 of the Pathfinder Alpha rules have been released, and I'm reading through them as we speak.
What I'm seeing so far...
Barbarians - Instead of a generic rage ability (which could be modified with feats released in later books), barbarians now get rage points that they can spend to either A) go into a rage, B) keep raging, or C) gain rage-related powers. Definitely adds flexibility to the class.
Druids - Druids get the option of either taking an animal companion or taking a related cleric domain (air, animal, earth, etc.). Also, the wild shape abilities have been revised to mimic new spells split off of polymorph. Again, more flexibility.
Paladins - Again, flexibility is the key here. Paladins can either take the traditional mount, or they can take a celestial spirit that they can call upon to temporarily enchant their weapon with a variety of traits. Paladins also get more smites (they cap at 7/day, rather than 5/day), and they get auras that both grant them immunity to various effects and give bonuses to allies within so many feet. A level 20 paladin? Immune to fear, disease, charm spells, and compulsion spells, as well as counting as having a good weapon and extending that effect to allies within 10 feet. No more dead levels for the paladin, no sir.
Sorcerers - The spellcasting hasn't changed, but sorcerers now take a bloodline to explain where their talents come from. Think domains - they grant abilities at certain levels, as well as providing a number of bonus feats. Want to be part-elemental? You get a related touch attack, energy resistance, an elemental blast, special movement, and other elemental immunities (although not all at once, of course). Again, variety and flexibility are key to making base classes more interesting/balanced with later classes.
Skills - The Saga-esque skill system has gone away (boo), but the new rules are a bit easier to use in relation to existing 3.5 materials. You get skill ranks, but you can't have more ranks in a skill than you have hit dice. However, there are no more cross-class skills; instead, class skills give you a +3 bonus. No more (ranks+Int)x4 at first level. In the end, the result's pretty much the same. To adjust, humans get extra skill ranks, and half-elves get Skill Focus as a bonus feat.
Grappling - Grappling has been further revised/simplified. Grappled and pinned are officially statuses now, and when you are grappling someone, you too are grappled. I'm curious to see how this plays out with larger grappling creatures (like giant squid and such). These rules still don't feel quite finished.
Spells - Many new spells, with quite a few of them being variations on polymorph. It feels mildly excessive, but it does unify similar spells and effects, so that's good. Also, spells no longer have XP as a possible casting cost. In fact, all XP expenditures are gone. Crafting magic items? It's all about time and money (and having the appropriate feats, of course). Having a chart that gives estimates of an item's cost based upon what effects it provides is very handy.
Curses, Diseases, and Poisons - These all fall under "afflictions", and have more-or-less unified rules. It's interesting to see a variety of curses available in a core book.
Negative Levels - No more level loss/"unbuilding" characters! Yay! Instead, negative levels can just become permanent, meaning you just take penalties to everything (although you don't lose prepared spells or spell slots). Still enough to be uncomfortable, but not a massive pain in the ass.
So far, I'm still pleased. Skills and grappling could have been handled a bit better, but the rules are still in alpha. We have one final phase of Alpha to go (which will give us bards, monks, and rangers), and then it'll be time to pre-order my Beta book. I'm thinking that unless D&D4e absolutely blows me away and they don't screw over OGL publishers, Pathfinder is going to become my fantasy ruleset of choice. I'm tempted to run a one-shot playtest session with what's been published so far.
What I'm seeing so far...
Barbarians - Instead of a generic rage ability (which could be modified with feats released in later books), barbarians now get rage points that they can spend to either A) go into a rage, B) keep raging, or C) gain rage-related powers. Definitely adds flexibility to the class.
Druids - Druids get the option of either taking an animal companion or taking a related cleric domain (air, animal, earth, etc.). Also, the wild shape abilities have been revised to mimic new spells split off of polymorph. Again, more flexibility.
Paladins - Again, flexibility is the key here. Paladins can either take the traditional mount, or they can take a celestial spirit that they can call upon to temporarily enchant their weapon with a variety of traits. Paladins also get more smites (they cap at 7/day, rather than 5/day), and they get auras that both grant them immunity to various effects and give bonuses to allies within so many feet. A level 20 paladin? Immune to fear, disease, charm spells, and compulsion spells, as well as counting as having a good weapon and extending that effect to allies within 10 feet. No more dead levels for the paladin, no sir.
Sorcerers - The spellcasting hasn't changed, but sorcerers now take a bloodline to explain where their talents come from. Think domains - they grant abilities at certain levels, as well as providing a number of bonus feats. Want to be part-elemental? You get a related touch attack, energy resistance, an elemental blast, special movement, and other elemental immunities (although not all at once, of course). Again, variety and flexibility are key to making base classes more interesting/balanced with later classes.
Skills - The Saga-esque skill system has gone away (boo), but the new rules are a bit easier to use in relation to existing 3.5 materials. You get skill ranks, but you can't have more ranks in a skill than you have hit dice. However, there are no more cross-class skills; instead, class skills give you a +3 bonus. No more (ranks+Int)x4 at first level. In the end, the result's pretty much the same. To adjust, humans get extra skill ranks, and half-elves get Skill Focus as a bonus feat.
Grappling - Grappling has been further revised/simplified. Grappled and pinned are officially statuses now, and when you are grappling someone, you too are grappled. I'm curious to see how this plays out with larger grappling creatures (like giant squid and such). These rules still don't feel quite finished.
Spells - Many new spells, with quite a few of them being variations on polymorph. It feels mildly excessive, but it does unify similar spells and effects, so that's good. Also, spells no longer have XP as a possible casting cost. In fact, all XP expenditures are gone. Crafting magic items? It's all about time and money (and having the appropriate feats, of course). Having a chart that gives estimates of an item's cost based upon what effects it provides is very handy.
Curses, Diseases, and Poisons - These all fall under "afflictions", and have more-or-less unified rules. It's interesting to see a variety of curses available in a core book.
Negative Levels - No more level loss/"unbuilding" characters! Yay! Instead, negative levels can just become permanent, meaning you just take penalties to everything (although you don't lose prepared spells or spell slots). Still enough to be uncomfortable, but not a massive pain in the ass.
So far, I'm still pleased. Skills and grappling could have been handled a bit better, but the rules are still in alpha. We have one final phase of Alpha to go (which will give us bards, monks, and rangers), and then it'll be time to pre-order my Beta book. I'm thinking that unless D&D4e absolutely blows me away and they don't screw over OGL publishers, Pathfinder is going to become my fantasy ruleset of choice. I'm tempted to run a one-shot playtest session with what's been published so far.