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Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

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Back in January, I went through a number of games I need to try in 2024. I’m nearly complete on that list. With 5th Conspiracy, I went through a whole season and it took me a while to parse all that I’d learned and done. Heck, nearly 70 pages of notes during the game will do that. (Yes, I’m that kind of player.) Also, I figured what better time to premiere my experience and the glorious details of this game than right before the next season starts and you get your opportunity to try it at PAX Unplugged next month! So get ready to look past the obvious and mundane, to the world of the Oratum and their 5th Conspiracy!  This was the game that my dear friend Kae said I had to try at PAX Unplugged last year, and I’m so glad I did. 

I asked Kae why she’d come to me directly and so in her words: “It managed to blend urban fantasy in a setting with combat that didn’t feel like a slog while offering character options of so many different mythologies and monsters varieties that it felt like anything was an option. I left wanting to play 5th Conspiracy again. I literally did the next day of the con.”  PAXU 2023 would prove that opportunity! “Stephen had created his own system with outside mechanics which broke down and solved so many issues we’d experienced in other games we played together over the years. I  knew it would appeal to Rob as a player who loves WoD which heavily influenced 5th Conspiracy. It was worth his time to invest in [insert wink emoji here] with the added bonus that I wanted to play what I knew would be a great game system with a great roleplayer and friend.” Gotta love Kae, and thank you Kae for helping bring me into this world and meet Stephen!

Truthfully Stephen, that is Stephen Koontz the creator of AED Publishing (also on bsky), does an amazing job breaking down the what of this game. The man’s been gaming his whole life, worked for Roll 20 (a developer after my own heart), and took his experience to not only make a creative modern (usually urban) fantasy/gothic/scifi game but also weave in the tools to help it, you, your gaming group be successful. How’d he do that? Calm down, I’ll get there! First, I have to go a bit deeper into the Premise. While I thankfully have an early version of the full 5th Conspiracy rule book – yes, be jealous it’s over 200 pages of awesome – I can’t just share it with you! However, I can tell you that this game is very much that mix of fantasy, gothic, and scifi like I mentioned. It all comes down to what kind of character you and your friends (the actors) are playing, let alone the story you are telling with your Director (the GM). I won’t say Storyteller, because, well I’ll get to that later too.

Tell Me Why

In my professional life, where I work as a consultant, we try to strive for the Why of a company we’re working for, and the why of a project. That helps us help you (the client) prioritize as well as get us all marching to the same vision together, especially if the Why is a problem you’re trying to solve. Making it easier to use the checkout of a site is a very different why than launching a new site design to excite customers. Of course, you might want to do both! But this isn’t about my work, so why then are you telling me this Rob you might be asking? It’s because the Why of 5th Conspiracy is important. It’s tools for establishing a gaming group, a game with a story you wish to tell, and even the fundamentals of its mechanics are all part of Stephen’s desire to answer the problems of keeping a gaming group together, to be able to tell diverse stories (even differing season to season), and allow for a gaming system that allows us all to be authors of the story while still putting some fun anxiety into the dice rolling. Yes, yes, I swear I’ll get to mechanics too. It’s worth calling out that characters come first, then stories, then mechanics. You can even see that in the frame up to how Stephen and his team are putting the book together as seen below.

The Basics

First, know that 5th Conspiracy is a juxtaposition of the human and the supernatural. You might be a witch or wizard. You might be a vampire or a werewolf. You could be an angel, a devil, or some other divine entity. Maybe you’re of the Fae, and that doesn’t mean you have to be a trickster in the woods! Perhaps you’re the spirit of the forest or a city block. Perhaps you’re an alien, traveled here in the pursuit of science and the Earth’s important future. You might be the personification of a legend or myth like Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed. Or perhaps you’re descended from the Gods of one culture or another or a mix! As I said, it’s a mix! There’s a fair amount of politics as these groups have organized into houses and a certain power structure, with names you’ve likely heard (Lucifer, Merlin) leading the way. All want to keep influence, all like a certain amount of veneration from mortality (not just the Gods). What does it mean to exist in this modern world? How do you influence it, gain from it? Do you forgo your humanity or try to help it? As you gain power and influence it gets harder and harder to not only blend, but to stay close to what once was considered human for you. You can see below a part of the book (still in development) where we get a fictional character’s perspective on what the Oratum are.

Premise & Planning

You can utilize 5th Conspiracy in many ways, emphasizing the political, or the action, or a mystery. To help you and your friends focus on what kind of tale you wish to tell, and to help the group come together with joint understanding to prevent game fracturing… You know, like one person didn’t realize the game would be months long or they can only make it every other Saturday? Or one person wanted more action and another’s here for romance and politics? Stephen created the Premise Document, available in the 5th Conspiracy Resources. So I can’t tell you this game is just one thing, because it’s not. And it’s not just based on what the Director wants. Oh no, well the Director might have ideas about this game and its mechanics really challenges you to help write the story with your fellow players. You aren’t just reacting to a story that’s crafted without the characters in mind. And it’s not the Director’s job to write out a full plot weaving the characters’ needs together. It’s a group effort, a blend of the two, because it’s collaborative because while 5th Conspiracy is at heart a character driven game, it’s also player driven. Oh that doesn’t make it easy, no, but it is more rewarding and the Premise Document helps you get there. Decide on the genre (more action or intrigue, or something else). Think about the themes that inspire everyone. Are you trying to find your family or seeking self-discovery? Maybe it’s revenge. Maybe it’s a treasure hunt. Spirit helps remind you of some parts of fiction, tv, etc. that you’re trying to capture here. Is it Monty Python or Game of Thrones, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, Dresden Files or True Blood? And of course, choose a Setting. Usually it’s going to be a big city but hey, if it’s just small town in the midwest that’s okay too!

Of course the Premise Document details more like the expected schedule, some Hooks to tie into the pilot, and the important Safety Mechanics. You should be reviewing all these in part in discussion ahead of session 0 with input from the Director and players, and then formally at the session. It’s good to review and certainly possible to reject aspects so the group can come together into a new plan. Take a look above for how Stephen goes into that process. Really, take a look at the Premise Document (open it!) and you will realize how valuable and useful it can be for any game, not just 5th Conspiracy. Like I said, Stephen’s created not just a fun, great game but tools to help you in all your roleplaying.

Hooks & Needs

I mentioned the Hooks above on the Premise Document. This is where the Director has taken their inspiration for the game and hopefully a pre-session 0 alignment on genre, themes, spirit and the characters being considered to come up with the events that set up the story of the season. This is important to help the characters know how they might fall into, get caught up in, or seek out the main plot items. Indeed, a character could be the genesis of one. But this is important because the most important part of character creation – besides having a rough idea of your central concept or Tulpa – is knowing your characters needs. What makes them tick? What is driving them forward? What do they want, or truly need? And they should reflect some of the Hooks if not have a Need tied to one of the Hooks. You can have situational needs too, but they’re not what’s at the root (thus Deep) of the character. In the first season, my angel knew they valued knowledge and I had envisioned this “Lost Angel of the Oratum” concept. Our central hook was around a missing character named Mercedes so I had created a Deep need of finding a place for my character, a true place of being or home. Their situational need tied to the hook, having heard about Mercedes and wanting to help find her because she was part of one of the mage families, the Salucci.

Ya Got Winning Attributes

That gave me my central concept and ties to the game. From there, I could build up my angel boy, my strangely insightful, off-putting to fellow teenagers Ardent. I had to choose his 4 Attributes: Fitness, Coordination, Keen, and Personality. They have sub-attributes or Traits too. Brawn and Tough for Fitness. Dexterity and Agility for Coordination. Aware and Smarts for Keen, and Charm and Will for Personality. Those traits probably help you reason out the intention of the four, but what I like is how they flow into mechanics. Any time you try to do something that requires a little effort or is contested, you’ll need to roll one of those traits, the die of the parent attribute and with the benefits of the trait number. I figured my Ardent was a bit of a student athlete so while all abilities started at d4, I’d raise Fitness and Keen to d6s. I got one more raise and rather than make any a d8, or increase Coordination, I figured he was strong of Will and thus had to increase Personality. I also would get to put a 1 in some of those sub-attributes. What’s that do? Well whatever that value is – it can raise later on as you advanced – if that number or lower is rolled, you roll again. Thus, I could ensure I didn’t get a 1 when rolling with Will, which obviously had to get a 1 in it. Same for Smarts as he was a dedicated student and another for Aware as he was more people watcher than extrovert. I so wanted one in tough, but it wasn’t time and I was out of points. Decisions have to be made. So here’s what my scores looked like:

Who You Are Matters

But it’s not just those attributes, it’s also how you see yourself and others see you. You start with an identity at a d4, which is pretty novice, while a d8 is professionally trained or known and the limit of most humans. You can certainly get higher, however. We got 6 identity step increases. Thus I decided to start with three based on the concept I’d already started forming: Student Athlete, Respected Volunteer, and Lost Angel of the Oratum. I also decided to go pretty standard across the three and give each 2 steps, so each would be a d6. That would mean I’d have to be sure to justify these as part of my Milestone breakdown. Those Milestones are basically the advancement of the character, and the average young adult and character should have 3 Milestones to start with. Each milestone brought 2 of those identity step increases. Stephen has a great chart and level up detail, so I won’t go hard into it but it helps you tie advances to story. Thus after this step I had the following identities:

Oh and look at that Dramatic Action button there… You see, we played with Roll20. Remember I said Stephen was a dev for them? Well he created an API to tie in with the character sheet, i.e. he programmed the heck out of it to work just how like Roll20 makes other game systems work. Snazzy right? Yeah, literally the way to play this virtually is already ready for you! You hit that Dramatic Action button after you’ve determined your approach, that is the Attribute and Identity you’ll roll with to determine your result. Stephen’s gone beyond that and in dramatic scenes of real conflict, there’s a timer. Get your approach in fast, with a quick snippet of what you’re doing story-wise, and don’t delay! It really helps you feel the action, like using the Jenga tower in a Dread game. I love it. You might note too there’s text under my identities as they can shift as you increase them. Ardent went from a Courageous Volunteer who saved people from a burning building (which is where some magic first kicked in, protecting him) and soon became a Respected Volunteer working around his home city. Here’s hoping in Season 2, Ardent will be a little less of a Lost Angel, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Additionally there are Identity Focuses, like special perks tied to your character’s identities that you get to work out with your Director. Ardent was thought to be a wizard at first, capable of manipulating elemental energies, and so I wanted a wizardly Patron for him. The Director (that is Stephen) was like, well what about Merlin? Won’t that be a hoot when he shows up! Uhm, yes! It really was a surprise for the other players too. I also thought that he should be well Connected due to his volunteer work, which makes it easier to call in help through those channels. The Patron on the other hand is more the ‘shows up when it really matters but isn’t around all the time’ type. His influence was felt in my background and he showed up once during the game in a perfect way. Well, he appeared again, but it wasn’t him after all but a tricksy rogue AI/robot bent on world domination. Ardent was trying to stop it so it made sense.

It’s More Arts Than Science

But let’s get to the fun powers stuff! These are your Arts and you will have access to 3 domains of Arts. Those domains (shown below) are Beauty, Freedom, Primal, Prosperity, Security, Spiritual, Victory, and Wisdom. You gain access to one through your Faction, which is the overall grouping of a few Families. The next you gain is from your Family. Each of the different families and faction gain access to these Arts, but usually with a different focus on the subset of abilities.  However it’s worth noting it’s not restricted.

Ardent is part of the Host Faction because he’s a Khafra, a being tied to knowledge. It took a lot for me to decide between Ange (classic guardian angel) and the Khafra, but at the root I knew Ardent would be about bringing knowledge, especially magical knowledge, and enlightenment to people. Considering not a lot of human beings use and believe in magic, it makes sense he’s been lost right? So the Host gain access to Beauty and the Khafra to Wisdom. You then choose a third, and Spiritual seemed right due to the magical aptitude I wanted Ardent to have on his own and training he’d have gotten from some wizard tower before they realized he wasn’t a mage at all! Your two granted domains also have some abilities that might work easier or better for you. Each Art has up to 5 levels and various options to choose within those levels. The first Beauty art I chose for Ardent was Thoughts and Prayers, which does indeed work better for the Host. Ardent can hear the prayers of humans across several blocks, and those that pray to him by name can be heard from any distance. It’s a real easy way to send a message when a cell phone isn’t going to work! Ardent also took the ritual magic of the first level of Spiritual, some of that wizardry training, and Flip a Coin, the first from Wisdom. Flip a Coin would represent that strangely insightful, oracular like ability he’d always had as a young kid, knowing things by surprise or guessing at outcomes.  Below there’s another excerpt focusing on the Werewolves and you can see a bit of their domain Art: Primal.

Let’s Roll Dice!

To get that next level of mechanics, let’s talk roll results. Again, first you start with your approach and then agree on what attribute and identity that makes sense to roll. Rolling uncontested? The Director has a target number in mind and if one die meets or beats, you succeed. Both do? That’s success with a dramatic beat and you get to ask for something a bit more. There can be dramatic consequences too for failure, but that’s part of the fun of the story and you get to narrate why the failure. It doesn’t have to be ‘oh I’m just bad at stealthing at this one moment.’ Maybe someone comes around the corner, the light flickers, a rat hits a piece of trash, etc. Rather than the typical d20/D&D occasional bad roll reflects on you, it’s more the circumstances of the game. A real dramatic failure might mean introducing more risk like another guard coming down the hall to suddenly spot you! You can choose to succeed with consequence when your roll fails, but roll snake eyes and it’s a dramatic failure no matter what! Figure out the results, then tell how it all plays out. Narration is always the last aspect to be detailed.

Your Arts can usually be used most of the time without consequence, but some uses of them could tax or Deplete you, especially used in combat. All Oratum are powered by an amount of veneration or worship energy for their legend, the fear of them, etc. That helps counter that depletion and that’s checked again their Balance. The greater your Arts access (i.e. the max level you have) the higher your balance. Over time your Depletion die goes from d4 to d20. When you roll higher than your Balance, you become Taxed and can eventually become Depleted. Roll under or equal to your balance? Well then the die amount for your depletion check goes up. Eventually, even the strongest Oratum can tire the power they pull through their tulpa. I liked seeing this in action because it gives power/ability to your character, but over time with certain uses it can be used up and give reason for the character to seek new veneration from human folk.

There’s some other mechanics, like using Story Points (think hero points) to get a reroll in an action scene or introduce something into the scene to help you like an ally arriving or revealing a tool that could aid in the effort. You might also get advantage, or +1 to a roll, but get in a spot in an action scene and you’ll have disadvantage, -1 to any non-defensive action. Good idea to try and get out of that spot so you can get rid of that -1. There’s other conditions like wounded, helpless, dying, but I’ll leave those to you to discover more about when you play. Instead, let’s look a bit deeper at the story and my own experience shall we?

But Why A 5th Conspiracy?

First, we’ve talked a lot about 5th Conspiracy the game. But what exactly is this 5th Conspiracy in-character? Well there are 4 conspiracies, which are the four courts of Oratum that make up the Metikos government. There are the Kylem, the Lucifera, the Tuatha De, and the Pragmatiste. Each faction belongs to one of these allied conspiracies, but don’t expect all to be friends. There’s still political challenges for power and all the various ranks and titles and squabbles around such. Dragons for example are found within Pragmatiste. Gods within the Kylem. Angels are within the Lucifera. Fae are part of the Tuatha De. However it goes a lot farther than that and you’ll find almost any myth or creature you might want to play have their place including Vampires in the Pragmatiste, magic users in Kylem, aliens in Lucifera, and more! But the 5th Conspiracy? This is a legend, a myth, said to be a group of Oratum or perhaps something different that will destroy the Metikos. There are the Titans who are almost abstracts of forces or elements of nature given form, and seemed basically focused on destroying the Oratum. It goes well beyond the Titans of Greek mythology. Could they be tied to the 5th Conspiracy? Maybe, I don’t know. This is purely Rob conjecture. Like I said, there’s much you could play and it’s possible a 5th Conspiracy could form out of renegade faction members! Take a look at the full Factions list preview below.

Ardent’s Story

Most games, you’re not going to start high up in any faction, let alone be known to a broader Conspiracy. Maybe some folks in your city know you and that’s probably it. Now certainly you and your group could choose to start with more milestone, farther along in your Arts and possibly in political clout if you want to get into higher intrigue and contention stories with the rest of the Metikos or just Oratum in your city. However, you can have plenty of interesting tales early on without being far along. That was certainly the case for Ardent, who actually arrived relatively fresh to San Diego while the other characters had some seasons under their belt. I as a player was also a fresh add but Ardent had had visions of terrible things happening in San Diego, and so he came to help.

Ardent eventually met the two other main characters playing in this season through their pursuit of the missing Mercedes, the odd behavior of the leader of the city, and the revelation that more and more Oratum were going missing. Eventually we found out that even the head of the Tuatha De, Marie Rattlestilt (seen below), was missing but only because she was in hiding. She’d orchestrated a many-centuries long plan of having a series of daughters, and one son, to help facilitate a possible saving play to stop a monkey’s paw like artifact that was influencing and taking control of some people, including the leader of the city Syrus Regis. Meanwhile, Ardent’s trying to figure out where his knowledge and magical influence comes from that led the Wizards thinking he was one and to eventually acknowledge it was like he had some sort of damaged angelic host. Had he or his parents, that he never knew, done something terrible like a binding? No. Instead we found out the lost, heavily damaged Raziel (Galitsur), the Angel of Mysteries and Secrets and so-called “Keeper of All Magic” was tied to Ardent. Raziel was healing because of how he’d sacrificed himself in the distant past, at the destruction of Atlantis to save all others. Ardent was helping Raziel heal and continue his mission while Raziel helped Ardent. Great, but that healing would mean nothing if this deranged, sentient magical artifact and twisted AI that was controlling robots to murder people (kidnap even) continued on. Truly, all would die. We did stop both, and the deranged AI didn’t make it easy, but 2 of the 3 characters died including Ardent. Yep, he saved all he said he would and yet again gave himself (like Raziel had) to protect everyone. When I actually play a really good guy, I really go for it. However, do not fret, not all hope is lost, as our new season (which will have started by the time this comes out) will see us traveling the realms of the dead including Hades and Heaven to help get back to the waking, living world.

Stephen’s a master storyteller certainly, and a wonderful Director in encouraging us to shape our scenes. It was certainly a new situation for me to tap my DM/GM/Storyteller hat but in a player-way rather than guiding my character’s journey along the larger plot. Ardent had some real challenges between his stats/capability and his newness to the city, but he did help. In fact, I found I felt Ardent needed a singular scene of real triumph, which is where he went up against the deranged AI as he saved not only just Mercedes, but two other NPCs that the AI was using for their Oratum power as sort of a super-supernatural battery. Funny enough, Ardent was the battery there at the end to fuel a reality-changing, wish machine of a sort to conquer the foul influence of the monkey’s paw and those too far gone to be saved, like Syrus. Oh did I mention Syrus was also Kae’s character’s dad? The other main character was a sister, a goddess of the moon and magic, and capable of moving between time/space to not only set up Syrus in the right battle (and save numerous powerful people of the city from dying stupidly) but also using that reality-changing, wish machine. Marie (their mother) had set it up well. Yup. A glorious series of final battle and emotional scenes.

I also really value the mechanics and even the Arts use in non-combat scenes. D&D and Pathfinder are pretty combat focused, but utility spells and the right skill rolls help. Like FATE, utilizing failures to tell the story is woven into 5th Conspiracy so it’s not just a fail or pass. And you’ve got serious World of Darkness feels with monsters, politics, but it’s so much more than that. It’s certainly a climb to influence and possibly leave the human world behind, but that depends on the story you tell as well. There’s incredible opportunity for you with this ruleset. You could easily be the powerful people in a small town, or start higher milestone (and thus more power/influence) though I’d recommend saving that for after you’ve played a campaign or at least a couple seasons of one. I highly recommend investing in 5th Conspiracy and this amazing game. In fact…

Play 5th Conspiracy at PAX Unplugged!

Are you excited to try now? Good. You should be. Here’s how you can play 5th Conspiracy at PAX Unplugged. Go to Games On Demand, which usually has a large area set off in the RPG part of the hall. If you’re not familiar with Games On Demand, you don’t preselect tickets but stand in line and it’s first come, first serve for the time slot that’s starting. So if you want a specific game, get in line. Join their discord or go by and ask for some guidance. They will help you. Heck, I will help you if you ping me!

You could also meet the fabulous Brian Liberge who ran that Monsterhearts game I was so joyously part of. But most importantly even if you don’t get into the game you want, there’s a lot of others happening and you are guaranteed to have a great time with this amazing group of volunteers! Stephen will be there running 5th Conspiracy at the following times:

• Friday 12/6
  • 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (EST)
  • 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. (EST)
• Saturday 12/7
  • So no times set right now, but Stephen seemed open to the possibility…
  • UPDATE RPG Designer Meet & Greet
    • 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. (EST)
• Sunday 12/8
  • 2 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. (EST)

And of course, you’ll probably see me at Games On Demand as well! I’ll have more hype for PAX Unplugged coming in two weeks, my article releasing right ahead of the convention. Safe travels, happy gaming, and much love to all in this great community! So very thankful for my Know Direction and gaming family!

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – 5th Conspiracy book, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, art by Mike Luard

1. Premise excerpt, 5th Conspiracy, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz
2. 5th Conspiracy full cover banner, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, art by Mike Luard
3. Guide to the Mysteries, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, layout by Jen McClearly
4. On the Nature of Oratum, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, layout by Jen McClearly
5. Premise Rejection, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, layout by Jen McClearly; “Cinna the Sphynx”, art by Ethan Kelso
6. Domains, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, layout by Jen McClearly
7. Wolfe Family, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, layout by Jen McClearly
8. Witch, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, art by Mikael Lavandier
9. Factions, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, layout by Jen McClearly
10. Marie Rattlestilt, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz, art by Mike Luard
11. Games On Demand logo, Games on Demand
12. Suits banner, AED Publishing, Stephen Koontz

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Featuring:

Mike Danovich – Guest 

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the host works on Essence20 as a freelancer for Renegade Game Studios, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Listen Now!(mp3)

Listen Now! (mp3)

You were already on a heroic journey, but now the story is truly mythic. It’s time for more War of Immortals, and was I ever excited to see what Mythic could be for Pathfinder2E. First, a shout out to the amazing authors, developers, artists, editors, and team on this book as it’s filled with amazing mechanics, great art, and so much great lore. James Case, Liane Merciel, and Michael Sayre all had Author credits with Michael also being Design Lead. What’s more, the amazing Avi Kool has Editing Lead credit. But of course, there are so many more adding their voice to this book so check out that credit page and you can also Meet the Authors on the Paizo blog!

I truly appreciate the Myths and Legends chapter doesn’t go right into mechanics. After so many new mechanics for our new classes, ancestries, archetypes, I think it’s quite helpful to reset with a bit of a breakdown of what the chapter entails. It’s very informative and literally provides information on what you might find, as well as the Narrative intent to be told with mythic stories (and characters) as well as the Tone that these adventures will take. The challenges are harder, the impact greater, and the implications of every decision can not only impact your destiny but that of everyone else and the entire world, even the universe. Some will feel a great responsibility to use this power wisely (we know that lesson) but there will be those abusing that power to their own selfish ends as well as various monstrous challenges of truly mythic proportions. I appreciate the Tone leverages metaphor as reality – words cutting like a knife and truly drawing blood – as well as real folktales and stories. I hadn’t heard of “The Soldier and Death” from Russia but now I have. I love those great stories of being a simple person, giving away food to a beggar or helping an old person in the woods, becoming a true start to great heroics because it shows that person was good, willing to sacrifice or help. In this case it was a soldier giving away his last biscuit to a beggar and getting something grand (well, mythic actually) in return.

Yes, there’s a quick reference then to the mechanics we’ll see later on. But first, we focus on what a GM – and even players – should understand about Telling a Mythic Story. It’s not just the GM writing the story after all, all players are helping write that tale! At first there is the Calling, which may happen at any level, helping you transition from the standard adventurer to the mythic. It might even be you were born with power, but it activates at a challenging time (attack on your town?) or heck even puberty (X-Men mutant style!). Over time you’ll face numerous Trials, and there’s great guidance here for you GMs, before reaching the Final Approach to the ultimate challenge. That Final Approach is perhaps getting through a monstrous horde or army, breaking into a castle/tower/dungeon, and then confronting the big enemy in the Ordeal. Again, great detail here for players to help frame up their goals and GMs to craft around it so do check it out. Finally, there’s the detail on Immortality, which is supported by 20th level mechanics. This is when the heroes become one with the universe, Gods, achieve the ultimate goal (a la closing the Worldwound), or move on to battles amongst the planes. This is that destiny that mythic legends are marching toward, and once again, there’s great guidance here like considering an in-game plot that interests you for your character and you can help achieve a great ending for your character with the GM. We all want the collaborative story we’re telling together to be truly memorable after all!

Okay, So the Mythic Rules Are

How that literally plays out? Well, the Mythic Rules gets into the real details. First, forget your Hero Points. You don’t have them anymore. You have Mythic Points, and you start every session with 3. Don’t use them that session? Well you lose them and start with 3 anew next time. So, use them. What do you use them for? Well you can spend one to reroll a saving throw, skill check, attack, etc. at a proficiency bonus of 10 + your level. Yep, you’re even better than Legendary. In fact, use it on a skill you don’t have Expert or up in, and you get to count as having such like if you need Thievery of Expert or Master to open a lock. But it’s more than that, because various abilities, usually acquired through feats, will also require these Mythics Points. But don’t fear, through Mythic Deeds you can get more over the course of a session, or the adventures in general. Usually these deeds are more tied to hazard, puzzles, and other noncombat scenarios, likely tied to the Calling of your mythic hero. Mythic monsters can have them too, but it’s more an associated challenge than simply fighting the monster. I’ll mention a few later when we get to those monsters! Specifically however, if you defeat a mythic opponent the one whose attack killed them gets 2 points and the rest of the party gets 1. I’m intrigued to see this difference set as that certainly hasn’t been the general rule around XP and treasure. You might also achieve something or make a truly epic sacrifice and the GM can rule giving you mythics points, but in general it’s by completing a deed for 3 points to each member in the party or doing something in line with your Calling, which nets you 1 point.

Have You Heard the Mythic Call?

But what are Mythic Callings? This is your purpose, well your character’s anyway. Maybe it was granted by your deity, maybe it’s what inspires you, maybe it’s born from that initial mythic deed where your power came to you. But you have one, and only one. Each grants you some native abilities, like a way to spend Mythic Points as well as Edicts and Anathema to follow. Following your edicts grants you a mythic point, but violating your anathema makes you lose all you currently have. This book gives us 11 Callings, but I can see more in the future, especially in any Mythic adventures they release. As an example, we get the Demagogue’s Calling. You speak from the soul and can use a mythic point when you Coerce or Make an Impression. The first time each day you critically succeed to Coerce someone who isn’t an ally, Create a Diversion with words, or Make an Impression on someone indifferent or worse, you regain a Mythic Point. Sure seems like someone who could cut you with words, right? Well their Edicts are to tell stories who haven’t heard them, and use words before weapons to resolve conflicts. Indeed, it is Anathema to interrupt someone telling a story or to use violence without trying to defuse the situation diplomatically first. It’s sure to create some challenge for parties, but almost every Anathema could. Like don’t like to hide knowledge or refuse a request to hunt a dangerous animal. The Thief’s Calling has an anathema about leaving treasure unattended! Be careful in Pharasman tombs, Thief! She’ll have words for you when you die.

You get some additional abilities to help prevent death though. Each mythic hero does get a new free-action ability called Rewrite Fate. It allows you to reroll a skill check or saving throw where you don’t like the result. You spend the mythic point and get to use that bonus of 10 + your level. It’s also a lot harder to kill a mythic hero. When you would die (i.e. dying 4 for most), you instead become doomed 1 and stabilize at 0 hero point. Get to doomed 4 and you’re truly gone. But the doomed value goes away as normal, decreasing a point when you get a full night’s rest. Even mythic heroes need their sleep, unless they trance, or they’re androids, or… Well, they still rest. You get it.

They Look Like Big, Good, Strong Feats, Don’t They?

Mythic Feats start at level 2 and go through level 10. You gain one at each even level and then at 12th level you consider your Path to Immortality, which is basically a Mythic Archetype. But first, let’s consider these low-level feats. Some require a specific Calling, like Hands that Unweave Disaster requires you to follow that thief’s calling. With this 2nd level feat, you can spend a mythic point to Grab an Edge with that mythic proficiency. So that’s 2nd level, your bonus would be 12 + ability score + any bonuses and that d20 roll. You can also do so when Disabling a Device as well. Rewrite Fate let’s you do the reroll for any skill check or saving throw result, so not exactly a bonus on the Acrobats to Grab an Edge, but it would help with the Disabling Device if it required Expert or higher. Maybe let’s consider the 6th level reaction Correct The Story. Didn’t like that your enemy got a critical attack or saving throw result? Well let’s spend a Mythic Point and have them reroll. They just get better, as you might expect. 10th level has 7 options to choose from as printed. Mythic Casting let’s you spend a Mythic Point as a single action. Then the next Cast a Spell action you take, your spell attack roll or DC uses your Mythic Proficiency instead of its normal proficiency. Mythic Strike is similar but for a weapon or unarmed Strike. Eyes That See Eternity is a single action and you get truesight for a minute as well as making all Perception checks with that mythic proficiency. At 10th level, your mythic proficiency is 20 (10 + 10), and of course you’re still adding your ability scores, bonuses, and making that d20 roll.

I love that Mythic is not an “all the time” truly powered up template, but more something you can activate. However, that still will make various challenges, hazards, and combats easier. So how do you design around such? Well, again, the developers have some guidance for us GMs. The Mythic Encounters section is broken down from 1st to 5th level, 6th through 10th, and then 12th to 20th with a special note about the “highest levels,” which I take to mean 17th and up. I’v heard many hoped for levels beyond 20, like they did for Pathfinder1E. Even my brother mentioned it, but at least for now there aren’t mechanics for that. Instead we focus on building beyond the core structure we have. All three sections have a focus first on general activities, noncombat challenges, typical skills and impacts of their mythic abilities. Encounters are detailed for each with varying levels of how much you should use trivial, severe, and extreme encounters. As you can imagine by high levels, you’re not even really going to use low and can do more severe encounters in a row. The important part is ensuring there’s some measure of getting Mythic Points back along the way. No Mythic Points, no mythic abilities get used. Also bare in mind if you’re running a long session, you’ll want to restore those Mythic Points at least once because the assumption is a 4 or so hour game. There’s a nice sidebar in this section for GMs about Unlocking New Paths, and really allowing mythic characters to impact the larger world and story. Be prepared for shocking events, common people to be wowed or terrified, and of course true changes to your narrative world. You’ll want to keep track in case you play more games in that same world, perhaps with another campaign not so mythic but nonetheless the heroes are inspired by the mythic characters of the last campaign.

Walk, Walk, Walk the Path.  Walk the Path to Immorality.

As I noted above, Mythic doesn’t stop at 10th level but typical mythic feats due. Instead you choose the road you’ll walk from the Paths to Immortality. These are basically your mythic archetypes. Each presents a destiny that your mythic character will walk with feats along the way, with a final 20th-level capstone feat. We’re presented with 9 Paths:

• The Apocalypse Rider – do you dare to ride with the great daemons of war, Death, Famine, and Pestilence?
• The Archfiend – will you become a Lord of Hell, demon or devil?
• The Ascended Celestial – or are you a sanctified soul who will aid the Upper Planes?
• The Beast Lord – maybe dwelling amongst the natural world, close to your companion is the right future?
• The Broken Chain – perhaps you will overthrow tyranny and promote greater freedom, proving a hero of the people?
• The Eternal Legend – are your martial skills beyond peer, and your legend will live on in tales forever?
• The Godling – forget the Hells, the Upper Planes, are you ready to find your place amongst Golarion’s shaken pantheons?
• The Prophesied Monarch – or is more about the Kingdom you make here on Golarion?
• and finally the Wildspell – if you are one with magic, then it can be one with you!

Each is presented with four pages of details, first starting with some background aspects of what that Path represents and what actions they may take in the world. A number of examples of that Path are also given, not with stats but with story elements, of how they are or maybe could become a mythic character following that destiny. Each then has their 12th level Dedication feat and multiple feat options for 14th, 16th, 18th level, and two options for 20th. As an example the Broken Chain 12th level dedication allows you to use a mythic point to Escape or Force Open. You also get a single-action Ultimatum of Liberation that has an unlimited duration, though you can only have one active at a time. You proclaim an ultimatum against a single creature. All others who hear it, including any who hear it later on, are empowered for a day. They get a +2 status bonus to Will saving throws by oppressing enemies’ effects, or +3 if they’re within 30’ of you. The creature you gave the ultimatum to or any of its allies must make a Will save if they come within 30’ of become frightened. Of course, that target can truthfully agree to permanently end their oppression to end the feature. By 20th level you can take an Ideaform rather than be killed, where you’re invisible and incorporeal with only 1 hit point, but you’re immune to all damage and you can’t be instantly killed or destroyed. Within an hour you have to find a willing follower to merge with and then rebuild your character to a degree with a merging of class choices and their ancestry. Feels like Angels in Supernatural to me! The other 20th level feat let’s you spend a mythic point with 3 actions once a month. You alter reality to get a success on a Wish ritual, either undoing the effects of a past action or set of actions that occurred in the last week that led to whatever undesirable outcome. It notes there will be serious consequences that will come back to haunt your PC, basically giving the GM a set up to make you wonder if it’s worth your meddling with reality. Maybe Aeons will come for you, or the Norn, or a Deity of Fate, or a bunch of other heroes who know were impacted by this. This is just one path and yet there are many more with difficult decisions to be made. Truly mythic can change your world, your universe. Imagine a whole party of them! I’ll note that the Godling is the only Rare path while the others are Uncommon. Not everyone can become a God after all but Razmir is trying…

Items and Spells Are Going Mythic Too!

The Mythic Vault is filled with items of rare power. The very first given is the Mythic Armor Potency Rune at level 20. It’s a +4 item bonus to AC and gives you a reaction to spend a Mythic Point when an enemy critically hits you. If they’re mythic, it’s a normal success. If they’re not, it’s a failure. That sure feels godly to me! There’s a spear called Shadowpiercer that Nidal is not happy about, a true artifact not of brilliance and joy, but grim resolve. Those horselords are tired of the Umbral Court’s crap. I’m sure there’s a witch out there that would love to help any, especially from the Atteran Ranches… Don’t get it? It’s okay. This is a reference to Ateran my witch from Three Ring Adventure over at Roll for Combat / Battlezoo. One day we’ll finish… maybe… I hope. There’s also Mythic Spells like the level 10 Garden of the Green Man’s Growth. It’s 3 actions and you summon a Green Man to help you, one of those Arrive and Depart effect spells. How’s 10d8 bludgeoning damage from sudden growth and then 12d6 slashing damage from dangerous vines? It may be green at first, but those plants will be soaking up blood by the end of it. Damn. And of course, there’s the simple Rainbow’s End. A 2-action 1st level spell where you call down a rainbow from the heavens. Yes, first level my friends. It does simple spirit damage to those in the 10’ burst where the rainbow comes down, but meanwhile your allies adjacent to you can Interact with you to be teleported into that area. You can sustain it for a minute, so maybe don’t sustain it too long if your friends traveled the heavenly bridge to attack your enemies? Oh and of course, Summon Oliphaunt of Jandelay, another 10th level arrive and depart. But let me tell you, that monster is available to fight too!

Get Mythic Power, Fight Mythic Monsters

Now I want to go into all the monsters, but I don’t want to spoil the fun they can have for your games. There’s some templates to make Ambushers, Brutes, Casters, and Strikers into mythic dangers. The Mythic Gogiteth presented (see above) is pretty terrifying, giving an example of an Ambusher as is the Mythic Caster example, a Mythic Lich. But after some good Mythic Monster examples using the templates – and I’m sure we’ll see more in future adventures – we get the big Mythic Monsters, destined to be great adversaries for your heroes. There are seven given, including that Oliphaunt! Each has a bit of narrative, background information, origin details, how to use them in your campaign across various levels, great artwork, stats to support the creature, and mythic deeds to tie to handling the monster. You might even find some additional items or rituals too. One example for the Oliphaunt is finding the Archive of Dissonant Frequencies and doing some truly mythic research in this ancient astrological orrery. There’s another about besting a muse – not Oliphaunt related mind you – that might actually be problematic if it’s your Bard’s muse! Let’s hope a witch’s patron doesn’t get involved in one of these. …Uk’otoa…Uk’otoa… (Critical Role reference for my Critters). I love the warped godling mythic threat they’ve put in here, but I truly won’t go into detail about it and leave that for the GMs!

Or you can invest now in War of the Immortals and check it out yourself. This is another book that’s chock full of amazing and useful rules, not just the mythic but the character options I discussed last time. I haven’t even touched on the lore – well maybe a little – and I’ve chosen to leave out doing so until it’s relevant elsewhere, like maybe with Divine Mysteries later this month! Really though I don’t want to spoil the fun you and your teams can have with the amazing creativity brought together here. Let me know about the mythic characters and games you’re making in the meantime! Now I just need to decide if I’ll bring any of this to our Kingmaker game, hm…

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – War of Immortals cover, Paizo, art by Wayne Reynolds

1. What Is Mythic excerpt, War of Immortals, Paizo
2. What Is Mythic banner, War of Immortals, Paizo
3. Mythic Samo, War of Immortals, Paizo
4. Mythic Nahoa, War of Immortals, Paizo
5. Mythic Gogiteth, War of Immortals, Paizo
6. Myths and Legends full page, War of Immortals, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Featuring:

Kirsten Lunde – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

That art is breathtaking and terrifying. The War of Immortals is upon us. Next Wednesday you can feast your eyes upon this beauty, and maybe like me also catch the last two episodes of Agatha All Along… I got my PDF ahead due to my subscription, which is totally worth it if you want the book, though also I’ve been enjoying the hype online and from my friends. Also the Curtain’s Call adventure path has been leading up to the event as well. Some truly epic (wait, mythic!) events are unfolding. I’ll go deep into the book next time, heavily into the lore and possibly a separate one around Mythic itself, but I had to start calling out my excitement for new options here!

The Animist

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the Animist. The cleric I play in my brother’s game is very spirit focused. When I created him, there wasn’t anything quite right for Pathfinder2E to be used. He’s certainly developed into more of a priestly figure (and his deity is the city he’s in) but he still often calls on spirits and I’ve used spirits in the nature of his spellcasting, literally calling on the help and power of the spirits of those who’ve passed but were dedicated to the city somehow. My fun gnome is the voice of the city! Yes, I definitely considered an ancestors approach with the Oracle. Anyway, the Animist is all about being the go between between the living world, the mortal, and the spiritual. They speak to the dead, to the fey, to the spirits of nature… They’re a Wisdom-based divine caster and they’ve some depth of versatility whether you want to play close to a particular kind of spirits or tap into the metaphysical in a broader sense. The feature set really enables this.

When building an Animist you choose between one of our practices: Liturgist, Medium, Seer, and Shaman. I do love that we continue to see inspiration from Pathfinder1E now in somehow more unified, but also broader (for building characters) options. The Liturgist uses song and dance to connect with spirits. The Medium channels spirits but bonds with one in particular. The Seer focus on undead and haunts, the lingering spirits of the deceased. And the Shaman has learned how to focus power into giving the ephemeral a bit of the physical world, allowing them to affect our mundane existence to some degree. Of course there’s the Apparitions you’ll bind or channel, drawn from the following:

• the Crafter in the Vault found in lost forges and dark dungeons who like to create but get easily jealous too
• the Custodian of Groves and Gardens who steward the gentle green places
• the Echo of Lost Moments representing old magic and lost memories
• the Impostor in Hidden Places that are secret keepers from the farthest depths where mortals rarely go
• the Lurker in Devouring Dark tied to the drowned depths
• the Monarch of Fey Courts of natural and lively fey spirits tied to the First World
• the Reveler in Lost Gelee that are tricksters and pranksters who will not like it if you don’t laugh at their oft-times dangerous antics
• the Stalker in Darkened Boughs that are spirits of ancient woods
• the Steward of Stone and Fire drawn from hot springs, volcanoes, and canyons
• the Vanguard of Roaring Waters flitting through the rivers between mountains and breaking where they meet the sea
• And finally the Witness to Ancient Battles, soldier never returned home or who never found satisfaction from their fight

That’s quite a few to choose from and normally you choose 2 as you prepare for the day with one being primary, but you can change them when you Refocus. Your primary spirit grants you a vessel focus spell but you get the bonus lore skills and spellcasting from both. The Medium does get to make 2 of them primary however. You’ll have to review all your options to see if what the others get compares quite with getting 2 primary, and thus 2 focus spells. I’m glad they call out you get a number of focus points equal to the number of focus spells you have due to your binding (max 3). While lore skills are always tied to intelligence, which I sometimes take into consideration with players, I do love that you get 2 for each spirit. You can call on spirits of the areas you plan to explore (dungeons, old magic lab, battlefield) or individuals you might meet (fey, undead) to really help you that day. And again, you can change them when you refocus. I love the ramifications for roleplaying.

The Exemplar

Meanwhile, an Exemplar has felt the spark of divine energy as the rains of the dying Corum came down. Maybe ya got hit by it, maybe you found a pool of enchanted water, who knows. Heck, you can say it’s a power that has developed within you outside of the Godsrain if you wish. That’s up to you! Either way, that power now thrums within you and that which you wield. Maybe you’re going to choose Strength or maybe you’ll choose Dexterity, but either way you’re likely to be a hero or an immortal foe… They’ve noted this class is Rare and powerful, with impacts to any game they are in. I’m quite excited to see how it shakes out in a game, but that’s true for nearly everything in this glorious book.

The key feature is investing your divine spark into an ikon, which is usually an item but can be something upon your body. You start with 3 and you’re bound to have a hard time deciding. There’s 21 examples offered from armbands that sparkle and gleam that captivates those who see it to a dark, shadowed sheath that allows you to pull any one-handed thrown weapon from it, born of shadowstuff. There’s an 8th level Additional Ikon that lets you acquire a fourth. You can shift what you’re investing as well as you acquire more through a 1 action Shift Immanence ability, or for free when rolling initiative. Each has their Immanence ability, i.e. while invested with that divine power, but you can leverage that spark to do a Spark Transcendance ability. That power then goes to a different ikon you have, and you can only do the Transcendance ability once a round. It’s limited sort of like doing witch hex cantrips once a round, and thus it’s good to have a collection of ikons you know you want to cycle through. For example, the Fetching Bangles allow you to choose an enemy within 20’ to make a Will save against your class DC or it’s pulled into a square adjacent to you. The Shadow Sheath on the other hand let’s you attack a creature you just missed with a Strike with another shadowy blade and the target is automatically off guard to you.

It’s not just the power you’re investing in your form or those items, however. It’s also the legend that develops around you, granted through Epithets, like extension titles. “The Brave” or “The Radiant” for example. Your first one is granted at 3rd level, noted as your story starting unfold as you literally make a name for yourself. The Brave are trained in Athletics and you get to Stride half your Speed any time you Spark Transcendance. It has to be in a straight line, but it’s a free action, also can’t do it to the same enemy more than once in 10 minutes. Meanwhile the Radiant is trained in Diplomacy and your Spark Transcendance inspires an ally of your choice within 30’, restoring hit points equal to 2 + double your level. They too are immune for 10 minutes, so it’s really once per encounter. At 7th and 15th levels you choose additional lines to add to your Epithet, always gaining more Spark Transcendance additional abilities.

Mutliclass Archetypes

We get the multiclass archetype details for both and I appreciate the perspective given to each, which grants insight into what is felt about these classes and how to utilize them to further develop your characters. I think many are doing the Free Archetype rule – my groups do – and so the new multiclass options and archetypes (oh we’ll get to those in a moment) always draw attention. The developers/writers mention the animist is a good way to find a spiritual connection for any character, like having your ancestor help you such as I’m imagining is the case of the cool dwarf fighter art above. It’s an easy way to pick up some cool Lore (skills) and some interesting divine abilities.

The multiclass exemplar on the other hand has a fairly sizable list of considerations for various classes as this archetype gives a chance for anyone to get a touch of divine power, a spark. I imagine a whole campaign of heroes who get this archetype as part of the Free Archetype rule. You do only gain one ikon, but it’s useful for anyone looking for a particularly powerful weapon. At level 12, you can take a feat to gain another. It’s noted Bards might want to go down this path with fancy show-combat. Rogue’s might like Shadow Sheath and become epic, deadly tricksters. And of course any spellcaster might like to partner an icon’s attack with a powerful spell. Truly dangerous Magus unlocked? Let me know what you end up designing!

The New Nephilim

It’s been covered elsewhere, but we get 4 new Nephilim heritages. Reminder Nephilim is the term for all our planar scions like tieflings and aasimars and now the Aeonbound too. They are tied to the City of Axis and that expectation of system and even body perfection. They’re great at healing and can Treat Wounds without a healer’s toolkit. The Battleblooded (see above) are descended from einherjars, those chosen by valkyries and other mighty warriors. They gain Intimidation training and gain Intimidating Glare for free. The Faultspawn are born of the asura and gain a reaction to use when rolling a saving throw against a spell or other magic that gives a +1 circumstance bonus or +2 if it’s divine and from a worshiper of a deity you have a grudge with. Finally there’s the Proteankin, the Ganzi, born of the chaos of the bubbling Maelstrom. You get resistance equal to half your level tied to a damage type that randomly shifts each day. There’s also a small +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against anything that would give you the controlled condition.

Class Archetypes

Now as for the archetypes, and by archetypes I mean Class Archetypes, we get 5. There’s the Avenger (rogue), the Bloodrager (barbarian), the Seneschal (witch), the Vindicator (ranger), and the Warrior of Legend (fighter). I’ve been eager to see the Avenger, as our classic Slayer of 1E returns. How nice to see you Zadim! I did adore that class, even if the character I had for it died far too early. What did I follow it up with? Oh an inquisitor and voila, here’s the Vindicator. Welcome back Imrijka! The Bloodrager is also a return from 1E, but the iconic is new. I’ve been prepping some various character concepts and the Avengers and Vindicator give great options for religious groups. These class archetypes start with varied changes at first level, but at 2nd level have to take a specific dedication. The Avenger has a deity they follow and are trained in intimidation, religion, stealth, and the deity’s divine skill as well as 3 plus your intelligence modifier skills. So effectively, you lose 2 as normal rogue has stealth, the racket skill, plus 7 + int more. However you get to use the deity’s favored weapon to deal sneak attack and get the weapon’s critical specialization when you critical with it! There’s also medium armor proficiency, but imagine the rogues we’ll see sneak attacking now with scythes and other weapons. The 10th level Shadow of Death feat allows you to instantly kill a target that has the doomed condition once they hit 0 hit points. The 6th level Zealous Inevitability lets you place that upon a target. That target when so killed can’t be returned to life or turned undead.

Vindicator on the other hand is a modified ranger as I noted earlier. They are trained in Religion, not nature, and they gain their deity’s sanctification as well as training in the favored weapon. Well if its damage die is less than a d6, you get the Deadly Simplicity feat. You also learn warden spells as divine spells! These vindicators are hunting down hidden dangers like undead and supernatural evils. Of note, the developers call out that evil religions typically refer to their vindicators as inquisitors, typically seeking out heretics. The edge they get – Vindication Edge – gives you a status bonus of +1 to your spell attack rolls against your hunted prey and they get a -1 status penalty to their saving throws against your divine spells. The Vindicator’s Mark you get, a focus power, targets AC and deals spirit damage and also outlines the target. Also makes them take more damage from your weapon attacks. It’s a perfect set up for a divine hunter!

I’m so excited to continue Investing In the War of Immortals. There’s so much more to get to, so you hold on tight. Like I said, more on Mythic and then also lore, probably two separate articles as there’s so much good stuff here. Then we’ll look ahead to PAX Unplugged with a feature on the 5th Conspiracy game I played and you should definitely check out there. Hope you enjoy your Halloween. I’m so excited for Agatha All Along and loving this witchy season! And of course, let me know what you’re building as you get your hands on the goodness of this book! 

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – War of Immortals cover, Paizo, art by Wayne Reynolds

1. back cover text, War of Immortals, Paizo
2. Legendary Heroes opening chapter full page, War of Immortals, Paizo
3. Embodiment of the Balance feat banner, War of Immortals, Paizo, art by Oleksii Chernik
4. Seer, Animist, War of Immortals, Paizo
5. Celestial Archer, Exemplar, War of Immortals, Paizo
6. Fighter Animist, War of Immortals, Paizo
7. Battleblooded, War of Immortals, Paizo
8. Avenger, War of Immortals, Paizo
9. Vindicator, War of Immortals, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Phil Walker-Harding – Guest
Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

The Setup

In this chase the character is being pursued by a pack of trollhounds, twelve of them in fact in order to encourage the character to flee rather than combat them. Trollhounds are rather ferocious and they’ve powerful regeneration, which can be overcome by fire or acid, but again 12 of them is a dangerous encounter for any one character. In the case of Kingmaker, the character will be encountering this pack while venturing into the Stolen Lands, presumably while venturing alone in the untamed wilderness near or not far from one of the many rivers. There’s plenty of rolling hills, dense forests, and other treacherous terrain you can leverage in a chase.

• Environment: rolling hills, dense forests, rocky hills, cliffs, rivers, underbrush, possible dangerous fauna
• Timing: variable, as appropriate for need of encounter but dusk or night can create added challenges
• Creatures: 12 trollhounds

The Chase

Each round with the character should feature an appropriate obstacle. Don’t be afraid to change it up slightly, move around your planned pattern, or reward clever thinking! Each of these obstacles will require a skill check or saving throw, though a player may have an idea that you should adjudicate. Start with a standard DC for that character’s level but vary for things that make sense to be easier or harder. You’ll note standard-1 or standard+1 for example. That doesn’t mean by 1 specifically, but to lower or decrease by the standard DC for that level in the chart. I recommend lowering the DC when it’s a particularly clever approach, well roleplayed, etc. Here each obstacle requires only 1 Chase point to overcome, as it’s a single character. You may require more to draw out the obstacle or because the character is trending behind. Any time the character has less Chase points than the number of previously completed obstacles, the Trollhounds catch up and might do some damage or create a new obstacle for the character!

Obstacles

1. Overgrown Thickets
   • Description: You charge through a patch of dense thorn bushes and tangled vines. The trollhounds are slower to tear through but can easily break the brush with their size.
   • Obstacle Type: Acrobatics or Survival (DC standard), perhaps lower if a magic item would help
   • Failure: You become entangled, taking 1d6 piercing damage and must spend the next round freeing yourself, losing ground.
   • Success: You nimbly avoid the thorns and gain extra distance.
2. Rocky Slope
   • Description: A steep hill looms ahead, covered with loose rocks. Tumbling boulders and uneven ground threaten to trip anyone attempting to climb.
   • Obstacle Type: Reflex (DC standard) or Athletics (DC standard+1) or Acrobatics (DC standard+2)
   • Failure: You stumble and fall, sliding back down. Take 1d6 bludgeoning damage and lose significant ground.
   • Success: You scramble up the slope, leaving some of the trollhounds behind as they struggle with the terrain.
3. Wild River Crossing
   • Description: A rushing river blocks the way forward. The water is fast and deep, and there’s no time to find a bridge. The trollhounds hesitate to swim, buying precious time if you can get across.
   • Obstacle Type: Athletics (Swim) (DC standard) or Nature (DC standard+1) to find a safer ford.
   • Failure: You’re swept away by the current and take 1d8 bludgeoning damage from rocks. You lose ground, and the trollhounds close in.
   • Success: You swim across quickly or find a shallow crossing, gaining distance.

1. Fallen Log Trap
   • Description: A thick fallen log lies across the path. You could leap over it or take the time to run around. It’s precarious, but could act as a momentary barrier.
   • Obstacle Type: Acrobatics (DC standard) to leap over, or Perception (DC standard+1) to notice a weak point and break it behind you.
   • Failure: You fail to clear the log and stumble, taking 1d6 damage and losing momentum.
   • Success: You either leap cleanly over or break the log to slow down the hounds behind you.
2. Old Ruins
   • Description: An old, crumbling stone ruin rises from the forest, a relic of a bygone age for the Stolen Lands. You could climb up the wall and try to lose the hounds inside, or dash through the narrow passages to try and confuse them.
   • GM Note: If possible weave in a bit of history related to the ancient Kellids or the Taldane pilgrimage that venture north to this area. 
   • Obstacle Type: Stealth (DC standard) to lose them in the ruins, or Athletics (Climb) (DC standard+2) to ascend quickly.
   • Failure: You make too much noise or slip during your climb. The trollhounds close in!
   • Success: You either evade the trollhounds by sneaking or make it to higher ground, where they cannot follow as easily.
3. Dangerous Wildlife
   • Description: A territorial owlbear or other dangerous creature is startled as you pass through its territory. It growls at both you and the trollhounds, ready to attack the nearest creature.
   • GM Note: This is a great way to introduce an actual encounter or have the character join with the rest of the party to fight that creature. You may ultimately do as Success below notes and let the monsters fight one another, perhaps as the heroes get into an area the creature was guarding/protecting.
   • Obstacle Type: Nature (DC standard) to pacify or redirect the beast’s aggression, or Intimidation (DC standard +2) to stand your ground and scare it off.
   • Failure: You provoke the creature’s wrath! It attacks you or the trollhounds.
   • Success: You manage to redirect the creature’s attention onto the trollhounds or leave it behind, gaining ground.

I’ve come in to edit the article after the chase since this article is coming out after use. As is normal, things change, so I quickly adapted due to timing. One player has returned to our group after years away and I wanted a fun intro for him. Originally I thought he’d run into the owlbear first and the other heroes would join in and fight together. Instead, the heroes got there first the previous session and the player had to be late. Thus, I had them move quickly through a few challenges, including a new challenge to use Perception or Survival to follow some tracks near the riverbed, giving the PC a good idea of the group they might stumble upon. Practice those improv skills, but have something to help support your mechanics and you’ll feel empowered at game every time!

Hope this helps you craft up your own Chase though those Chase Rules have many great examples. Remember those DCs should reflect close to the character’s standard DCs by level but feel free to put some easier ones in for a longer chase. The GM Core has many great subsystems, updated for the Remaster, and you can find them on the Archives of Nethys too. Chases are a great way to invest a bit of anxious excitement into your game!

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Chase rules image, Chapter 4: Subsystems in GM Core, Paizo

1. Rooftop chase scene, Creative Commons Attribution, Gengar1991
2. Character fleeing with gold, Chapter 4: Subsystems in GM Core, Paizo

Today this article is being written by Carlos Cabrera, developer for the Welcome to Night Vale Roleplaying Game using Essence20 that you can back right now on BackerKit here! I have also written some upcoming work for the Transformers Roleplaying Game, and you can read about some of my other work in the “Meet the Team” section on BackerKit. Thank you to everyone who has come out to pledge thus far!

That brings us to why we are here. Over 9,000 of you signed up to be notified of when the BackerKit campaign launched October 1st! So in fine anime tradition, I bring you Vegeta from Dragonball Z.

Building Essence20 Vegeta

I am no stranger to anime let alone Dragonball Z. Once I dressed up as older Gohan in his blue and orange gi for Halloween in high school, and I regularly wore long-sleeved DBZ t-shirts as well. I also used to own a copy of the 1999 Dragonball Z: The Anime Adventure Game RPG (and maybe drew myself as a character once).

But enough about my weeb status (feel free to pry for more). The Welcome to Night Vale Roleplaying Game happens to be my first professional crowdfunding campaign. While not the first project I’ve acted as developer on, because of Renegade Game Studios and because of you, it will be my first developed project to hit the market—and what a turnout! So this article is dedicated to you, the fans, of roleplaying games, of Night Vale, and of Dragonball alike.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Renegade Producer, Ben Heisler, Know Direction’s Ryan Costello, and some of the Renegade Discord chat I noticed for giving me pointers on where to find the rules I was looking for. It was like we came together like the Ginyu Force on this one.

The Prince of All Vegetables

Vegeta is the Prince of all Saiyans. A space-faring, warlike race who sent their strongest warriors to distant planets to either conquer or destroy. Normally humanoid in appearance, with the exception of their brown, fuzzy tails they usually wrap around themselves as a convenience. All saiyans have the ability to transform into giant Great Apes, which will be the focus of the article here with Vegeta’s first appearance in the series.

Why vegetables? The creator of Dragonball, Akira Toriyama (ALL HAIL), had a legendary fondness for puns. The series’ main protagonist, Goku, is a saiyan with the birth name of Kakarot (carrot). All full-blooded saiyans had names along these lines. Vegeta was given his name, which he wears proudly, because he’s the prince of them all.

Origin

(Vegeta’s original color scheme, before they settled on his classic blue and white)

Noble Blood (Power Rangers: Across the Stars) and… My Little Pony: Story of Seasons

Sometimes you find rules that are exactly what you’re looking for. Not only does Noble Blood encompass the fact that Vegeta is a prince, but across the stars? It was just too good not to.

For this build, we’re going to use the Essence increase and skill training or specialization into Social and Persuasion. Not only is he a prince, but at this point in the series he commands his lackeys to do all the fighting for him until he decides to step in. While the Origin Benefit: Be an Example does a great job to reflect that Vegeta puts a lot of pressure on himself to be the very best, there’s one thing that separates Dragonball from the other Essence20 IPs—flight.

Yes, Transformers has aerial movement, but I wanted to get away from the slightly heavier rules of switching between modes to gain access to it. Flight in Dragonball is a constant. Everyone can do it in the Z series, and the best fight scenes include charging at each other from angles in the sky. So I wanted flight to be easy, mobile, and easily accessible. The best example of that would be the Soar Like an Eagle Gryphon Origin Perk from Story of Seasons. This grants 30 ft of ground and aerial movement, which highlights a little of the speed in Dragonball. This would replace Be an Example, which at this point Vegeta does not do at all.

Role

Purple Ranger (Power Rangers: A Jump Through Time)

What greater baseline to start with for a super powered martial arts anime than a super powered martial arts show in live action? Rangers in the Power Ranger Roleplaying Game get personal power! Plus, they’re more alike than you think. Power Rangers transform and pose with explosions in the background! Dragonball characters pose and charge up in an explosion of energy! Also, the aforementioned Ginyu Force are a team of five, and they even double down on poses. It was just meant to be.

The reason why the Purple Ranger works so well is because of their Emotional Mastery ability. Characters in Dragonball can gain power through the use of their emotions (usually anger) but the cast of the series is wide enough that with a group of them, they can utilize the whole gamut. Their level 1 armor training and skill levels can even remain the same. Characters in Dragonball often wear armor or integrate weight training as part of their gi, and whether that is light or medium armor can reflect whether your character is a Z Fighter from Earth (in the classic orange and blue) or wears something heavier, like Vegeta’s body armor or Piccolo’s turban and cape.

At the higher levels, Emotional Strength is still pretty on theme (your powering up sequences), and naming a unique strike or attack is very normal for Dragonball. Because you can choose the damage type for the Unique Strike’s ability, it’s okay balance wise that the attack is only within reach. Point blank energy explosions happen all the time in Dragonball. The Purple Ranger also gets a ranged energy attack at level 5, which could be reserved for one of your character’s unique ki blasts like, Vegeta’s Galick Gun or Goku’s Kamehaha.

One of the things unique to Dragonball is its high amount of energy attacks. Using the personal power system, you could even mechanically have more energy attacks but keep them at shorter effective ranges, saving that level 5 ability for the most impressive ki attacks of the show. In order to keep it balanced with the Essence20 system, however, I suggest swapping out It’s Morphin Time for another Unique Strike.

What do we do with It’s Morphin Time? That can become Vegeta’s Great Ape ability at level 3. For a Standard action, Vegeta can create an artificial moon if one is not already present (and probably for a power point) and morph into his own Zord form. You can use the base stats of a zord without any of the driving or other zord features, and in exchange for being able to change into this form effectively at will, you get a Hang-Up. If an opponent grabs Vegeta’s tail he freezes, unable to attack (but can still defend himself or escape) or if it’s cut off, he reverts back to his normal saiyan form. If we’re planning for the future, every time a new zord feature is supposed to be gained, that can be another form, like Super Saiyan.

Influence

Martial Artist (GI Joe Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

This was probably the easiest choice to make. The Influence Perk of being able to study your opponent to learn about their capabilities (power level or threat level) was a no brainer. Plus, in Vegeta’s case, he’s extremely competitive and is quick to take offense when he learns that Goku no longer has his tail at this point in the series. That is a definite hang-up against his opponent’s Social abilities.

Essence Scores and Skills

In Dragonball, martial arts and energy attacks are the main focus. A lot of Skill Points should be put in Might or Targeting, but even more so in Conditioning. In every episode (that’s not filler) characters are being pounded into craters in the ground, or thrown into rocks or mountains. In order to do what they do that have to be able to take a beating. All they do is fight and train, really, looking for that next opponent or defending against the next intergalactic threat. You can also put an emphasis on evasion and defense, to reflect being able to block a flurry of attacks in mid-air as you and your opponent attempt to outmaneuver each other.

General Perks and Other Options

For an IP so combat focused like Dragonball, you’ll probably want to heavily invest in anything that can make you a better hand-to-hand combatant or can really hit with your long-range ki blasts. What’s great about the Power Rangers Roleplaying Game is that there are plenty of General Perks and Grid Powers (abilities you can gain with any of the ranger roles) that utilize your personal power points in unique and interesting ways. Boost Initiative in the Power Rangers Core Rulebook for example, allows you to spend Power to increase your initiative by +2 per point spent. Now that is aerial movement in Dragonball to reflect the most epic of showdowns.

Conclusion

I tried to approach this build as an entry point into the Dragonball series. Some of the things which didn’t make the cut were things I was also familiar with in the previous RPG. Thoughts on beam collisions, how delaying initiative or contingency actions might have an effect on things, even whether or not reactions were the right way to go. Maybe in the future for a higher-level build. Perhaps even a stat block.

I certainly hope you’ve enjoyed this first foray into Dragonball using the very flexible Essence20 system. Again, thank you for so many of you signing up to be notified about the Welcome to Night Vale Roleplaying Game. As of this writing, we still have 3 weeks until the BackerKit campaign closes on October 30th. Developing it, and this article for you, has been an absolute pleasure.

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Although the host works for Renegade Game Studios, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

I love the opening to the Character Options. There’s remarkable differences in the cultures of the peoples of our world, and that’s true in Golarion as well. Events unfolded differently, terrain and animals were different, even the stars above might look different leading to different tales. But we all gather as a family. We celebrate holidays with friends and family alike. We honor birthdays. We build homes, honor our dead, and more. So yes, we may marvel at the differences, the wonders we see when visiting a new place, but we have to remember our similarities as much as we must respect our differences, and the peoples and their cultures. I feel behooved to directly embed a sidebar actually.

I’m by no means a world traveler. I’ve sadly yet to get to Europe or Asia, despite having friends and coworkers on both continents. I need to. But you don’t need to visit a place or know some of its people to respect them. We’re all human in the end, though that’s not true on Golarion. And yet, they make it work. Most of the world knows there are bigger problems than the differences of their cultures or appearance. Oh sure, the bad guys still exist who would turn you against one another for power and profit – just like we do – but ultimately the common person understands the respect that should be given to others. An open mind, an open home. I hope we can have more of that, and if exploring games like Pathfinder helps others see that, then even better. I do love a good sidebar in these books…

Also before I begin, I should apologize. I meant for this article to be out while I was away on some very much needed vacation, but I got asked last minute to attend a work conference the moment I returned and so things got a little crazy. Of course, there’s no way I could skip out on detailing the rest of this amazing tome. Oh yes, I’m very excited for Godsrain and what’s coming next, but there’s a lot to celebrate and explore for our characters, PCs and NPCs alike. I think we’ve all seen the increasingly exciting featuring of other cultures, non-white peoples, and I don’t want it to stop, so we have to keep cheering for them as we learn and see them featured.

A number of archetypes and feats are included as we get into various character options. The Five-Breath Vanguard is for those who learn some of the elemental stances, focusing on the flow from one form to another. You learn to Cycle Elemental Stance as a single action, allowing you to Stride or Step and yet enter a new form. I love the practicality but also the visual I imagine, which feels very much in line with martial arts experts. The Strategist Marshal meanwhile expands the Marshal archetype. I had mentioned the marshal’s aura wouldn’t expand in my original breakdown of Player Core 2, but now with Strategist Stance it can go up to 20’ with a critical success. I worry few will want to give up two actions for Form Up!, where your allies then get to use a reaction to get into a particular formation of line, wedge, or cluster, but it could be suddenly helpful before an attack or to allow buff spells.

The new Spirit Warrior archetype channel spiritual energy through a blend of weapon and martial form. The dedication feat calls out that you’ve trained to the point of perfect harmony between spirit and body and that results in a single action ability called Overwhelming Combination. You get two Strikes against a target, one unarmed and one weapon strike. This allows you to combine damage for resistances and weaknesses. From there we get additional feats to represent oaths and other combo attacks. I love the oath to defend others from kaiju. That’s level 4 and grants you some bonus damage to larger creatures and a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws and DCs against kaiju. At level 10, you can take Transcendent Deflection. It’s a reaction that you can use once every 10 minutes, and it’s triggered by you or an ally taking damage from an attack. Bad news, you deflect with a one-handed weapon that becomes broken. Good news, no one takes damage! Love the cinematic imagery of that.

Speaking of cinematic, the Starlit Sentinel is giving sailor scout / magical girl transformation and I am here for it! A friend of mine is moving back to town and is thrilled to be joining into our Kingmaker game. He was very tempted to use this archetype because it’s just so much fun in representation but in cultural terms, this represents an individual chosen by one of the constellations of the Tian Xia zodiac. You get a small item to be your transformation seal and when activated your outfit changes, after your transformation sequence of course. Your weapon also get a bonus to damage and you can fire starlight bolts as well! What’s really interesting is that the bolts get the benefit of your weapon runes, counting as arcane and force. At 8th level you can take Majestic Proclamation, announcing your name and causing your constellation to shine brilliantly around you. There are a couple focus spells you can get with a 4th level Special Sentinel Technique feat. You choose one, but can take the feat again for another. One does healing, but the other is an attack that varies depending on the constellation you choose. By 14th level you can gain a fly speed whenever you’re transformed. There’s a lot of opportunity with this one… Vigilante Starlight Sentinel maybe?

We get a couple pages detailing the Dance and Art styles of Tian Xia, including sword and fan dancing. I’ve long wanted to make a Bard Fan Dancer, and now you can with the Fan Dancer archetype! It increases your Performance skill making you an expert at level 2 (when you take the dedication), then again at 7th and 15th. As part of your Feint actions, you can Stride 10 feet before or after. Keep on dancing! At 8th level you create a Pushing Wind. You and allies within 30’ gain a 5’ circumstance bonus (not status!) to land speed as long as you are holding your fan. Meanwhile your enemies within 10’ treat the area as difficult terrain. It can get quite easy for you to gang up, distract, and overwhelm your foes with this archetype. At 14th level there’s a couple feat choices to choose from, and Peony’s Flourish is one that takes 3 actions. You get to Stride twice and then make a performance check against the enemies Will DC. If you succeed they are stunned 1 and dazzled for a round. But critical success is stunned 3 and dazzled for as long as they are stunned! A fan dancer is truly a terrifying foe for warriors in melee, who typically have low Will DCs! If I don’t make a PC Fan Dancer soon, then I’ll have to make an enemy NPC one!

Maybe it’s all the cooking in Kingmaker, but the Cooking section got me very excited too. Every culture has traditions in food, especially gatherings around doing so. The Wandering Chef archetype builds upon this with a training in crafting, the Quick Alchemy feature to create alchemical food, and even some versatile vials. Later feats let you prepare more versatile vials, but the 14th level Cosmic Cocktail interested me. You create a drink that inspires the starry universe and gives you truesight. If you need to make a counteract check, you get to use Crafting or Cooking Lore! Beyond these feats, there are some cooking rituals symbolizing many traditions of gathering like the Bonding Meal to unify and connect those with the place of your meal’s origin, likely something the chef learned from a family member or some event in your past, like serving in a war. We get additional Alchemical items too like ingredients and foods, though there’s references to still using the Treasure Vault as well. I’d like Cloud Buns please, and I love that they give you a fly speed for a short time!

The Medicinal studies of Tian Xia are discussed next, calling out the herbalism of Pei Zing and The Five Elements. The base concept is that all aspects of life are tied to at least one element, of which there are five as wood is counted amongst them rather than the western/hermetic philosophy of four, though that gets into the concept of ether and well that’s for another time. Anyway, we get an informative table tying seasons, tastes, dragons, emotions, even organs to the various elements. It’s also suggested what elements might be used to treat excess or deficiencies of an element. These are useful starting with the 1st level feat Prepare Elemental Medicine. Ultimately the treatment the medic provides leads to a +1 (or +2 for a critical success) circumstance bonus to saves against the affliction after the medic has treated the patient in accordance to the associations table. This has been taken further by other cultures like Chu Ye developing acupuncture, which has a related 1st level feat. A 14th level feat let’s you meditate as an action and then until the start of your next turn, if you hit a creature with an unarmed Strike, or an adjacent creature harms you, they make a save or become frightened. It’s called Meditate On This! And I love the concept of considering your anger, resentment and channeling it into your qi to the point of weaponing it. It flows into the target and scares them!

The Tian Innovation section focuses on inventors and their creations like the Oil Fire feat. It’s a single action for an armor innovation that lets you possibly ignite your grabbed target with persistent fire damage. Meanwhile the 12th level Celestial Cacophony is a weapon innovation that takes 3 actions. You have a small chamber in your weapon that can launch black powder, fireworks, etc. It causes fire and sonic damage in a cone and improves every two levels. The unstable function? It becomes a 30’ cone and does d8s instead of d4s for damage. Some brilliant inventors creating elemental weapons over there! I want to see them create something with the Arcadian beast guns. They could make a truly wondrous star gun that’s for sure.

I’ll encourage you to do some research into the classical fantasy literature of Wuxia. It’s the next section, classifying various mechanics that mix martial arts and often a romanticized or operatic story involving a hero of wandering/vigilante/chivalrous nature depending on the interpretation. First, we get a variant of the Magus called the Qinggong Magi. I remember when in first edition all of a sudden Monks were spitting out spells as my brother adopted the variant for his monk. This is a more inspired, practical example as the Qinggong Magus blends martial arts and their spellcasting. The first type is the Aloof Firmament blending lightness of the body with philosophies between morality and immortality. They get to fly with their Conflux spell Sky Laughs at Waves. But the Unfurling Brocade uses fabric to attack, wielding it with deadly precision. Both of these have clear inspirations to Wuxia movies, the one most recognized by western cultures being Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It came out 24 years ago, can you believe that? Also, remember to honor the spirit of these tales and their lessons, as well as their importance in Chinese culture. Like I said, do some research.

Meanwhile, the Cultivator turns their ki toward refinement of the self through occult means, all while seeking immortality. This archetype invites planar energies into themselves, all while meditating and reflecting on their spiritual self. The dedication feat requires training in Occultism and automatically makes you an expert. You also get adapt self (linking to the legacy version until we get the updated form in Divine Mysteries) as a focus spell and it counts as a qi spell, allowing you to take things that require the use of qi. The higher level feats require you to become holy or unholy as you align yourself with those sanctifications. At 16th level you’re either becoming an undead creature (if unholy) or a living creature (if holy), though both are immortal. Thus, undead creatures could become alive again following this path. That feat is called The Immortal Attains The Summit. I love the story implications of this, though I’m not sure ceasing aging and the rituals for control weather and plant growth (even using Occultism instead of Nature) is quite enough for a 16th level feat. Well, I guess it only reads as you being sensed/detected as undead/living so it’s not like you get undead resistances and the like. I’m hoping there’s some benefit I’m not understanding mechanically, but it could have incredible story implications for some spirit, undead, dhampir who’ve been on the path to enlightenment.

Leaving Wuxia behind, Familiar Sage is an expansion of the Familiar Master. They know that these familiars are spirits that represent aspects of life or other concepts. They develop their bond even more so, finding magic in that connection. The dedication feat (4th level) grants you the Enhanced Familiar feat and what’s most important is you can take it even if you haven’t taken 3 Familiar Master feats yet! You learn through later feats to channel various spiritual powers like the ability to control elemental air with the 6th level Tempest Cloud’s Speed, allowing you to move with a 10’ status bonus and Stride without triggering reactions. By 16th level, it’s channeling elemental fire with Phoenix’s Flight. You can now transform into a Phoenix, merging with your familiar and gaining a 3-action Blazing Conflagration spell that does 16d6 damage to all creatures within a 10’ burst while granting you temporary hit points. I appreciate it improves automatically at 18th and 20th level too.

The Martial Arts section details numerous feats that embody the various monastic traditions within Tian Xia. We get some great lore and in-world detail about various philosophies and studies around martial arts, ever useful for developing backstories and progression details for characters. I appreciate the Kaiju Stance 8th level feat. You have to have encountered a kaiju in the past and be unarmored, but it makes you Large and gives you the ability to make shattering earth attacks, while only shattering earth attacks. Ignoring difficult terrain is great too! The 20th level Wake of Devastation requires Kaiju Stance and makes your shattering earth attacks have the razing trait. Never fear a door again! You create difficult terrain around your strikes and can immobilize your targets with critical hits. The Martial Artist archetype of course has some further detail here, noting additional feats they can take from the section as well as a couple new feats including the 8th level Adamantine Body. Gotta level resistance to attack as a reaction!

The Companions and Familiars section gives us creatures appropriate for the area like Durian Crabs and Tikar Urchinpads. I love the Lantern Wisps, with hand-made lanterns embodying a spirit to float with you. The Shikigami are paper familiars who gain an ability to flatten, allowing them to easily squeeze even under doors! Plus they’re easy to replace should it be damaged, allowing you to rebind the spirit at daily prep. Yes, they take 6 familiar abilities to get but they can play dead and count as constructs. What I love is the visual of them. I’d want to have a number of them at the ready, and a crafter could fashion all sorts of spells in that style since you can describe your spellcasting however you wish. A number of new pieces of equipment, including magical items are then detailed in Tian Equipment. I can’t give all the details of course but I do love the Wand of Purification that lets you cast cleanse affliction, clear mind or sound body as necessary at the related level. Expensive? Yes, but the versatility is important considering the counteract level. Additionally consider period and culturally appropriate weapons for the domain of your character. Yes, the katana is printed but let’s not all race out to have a katana please. Consider the temple sword, sai, tonfa, wakizachi, the bladed scarf, katar, and of course the fighting fan!

I hope you’ve already Invested In the Tian Xia Character Guide, but if not, I can’t imagine you won’t want to make use of it’s ancestries and character options either for a Tian Xia focused campaign or one inspired by such. There’s many ways to bring those characters to other campaigns but remember to consider the cultural implications and do the research of what you’re drawing from creatively. Another shout out to the artist, designers, and developers who’ve brought another cultural touchstone book to us: James Case, Eleanor Ferron, Joshua Birdsong, Logan Bonner, Michael Sayre, Jason Keely, Luis Loza, Landon Winkler, Ianara Natividad, Avi Kool, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Vira Linevych, Sammy Khalid, and more! Thank you!

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Character Options chapter art, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo

1. Character Options excerpt, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
2. Adaptation Is Universal, Character Options opening sidebar, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
3. Spirit Warrior, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
4. Starlit Sentinel, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo, art by Vira Linevych
5. Fan Dancer, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo, art by Vira Linevych
6. Cloud Buns, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
7. Acupuncturist, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
8. Unfurling Brocade, Wuxia, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
9. Familiar Sage, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
10. Cyclone’s Path, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
11. Paper Familiars, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Jacob Jaskov – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog where no Essence20 build is too big, and no pup is too small. 

I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting. 

So it ends up this site hasn’t seen the last of Paw Patrol. But did you know Paw Patrol played a minor but memorable role in the development of Essence20?  

Story Time! 

During the design of Essence20, there was a point where we had a communal sense for the three most important elements of character creation, but nothing firm. So, after one too many meetings where we were stuck using vague terms, I volunteered to establish the terms and parameters by the next meeting. 

At the time, I knew that we had the My Little Pony license in addition to the three licenses we were working on (Power Rangers, G.I. JOE, and Transformers), so whatever I came up with needed to fit all four. To confirm the flexibility of the system, I also outlined how these options would work for a super hero game, another license we didn’t have and that I refuse to name for fear of rumours spreading, and Paw Patrol (which we also didn’t have the license for, but I have no fear that anyone gets excited enough to spread rumours about Essence20 Paw Patrol). 

I came to the next meeting with the following outlined: Influences were impactful life moments and strong personality traits. These would be universal across all systems as a tool for customizing your PC’s personality and giving mechanical benefits (and drawbacks) for your backstory. 

Roles were, simply put, our Class analog. They reflected how you contributed on adventures and were the area in which a character grew through a campaign. These would be thematically tied to the setting, but functionally the same. 

That left Origins as our most flexible option. Described vaguely as what you were before you answered the call to adventure, it could be your attitude, your training, your chassis, your creature type, or your dog breed. 

Ends up, Paw Patrol fit Essence20 really well. If I thought there was any market for a Paw Patrol RPG, I might have pushed for Renegade to try to get the license. 

Who Is Everest?

Everest is a forest ranger stationed in the snowy mountains by Adventure Bay, the home of teen genius Ryder’s canine rapid response team, The Paw Patrol. As a Siberian Husky, Everest is one of the team’s bigger pups, although a lot of that is floof to keep her warm in subzero temperatures. 

Members of Paw Patrol are equipped with backpacks called Pup Packs that deploy state of the art gadgetry useful for the Pup’s purpose on the team. Everest can deploy a grappling hook for precarious rescues on ice, over cliffs, and other dangerous environments on a snowy mountain. She can also deploy a snowboard, when she needs to get downhill in a hurry. 

Ryder also equips his pups with specialized vehicles. Although each Pup operates enough supped up rides to make Batman jealous, they all tend to favor one over the rest. For Everest, that’s the Snow Cat, an all terrain arctic vehicle with a deployable pneumatic claw. 

Moreover, Everest is the breakout new pup added to the team during season 2 of Paw Patrol. Even though she’s not considered a core member of the team, she appears on more merchandise that at least two core members of the team and could even be in the top 4. 

Building Essence20 Everest

I could have made any of the Paw Patrol members as Essence20 PCs. As I explained, the series just lends itself well to our character creation options. However, most of them would be Technicians. Skye would be yet another Rocketeer. Rex would be a Dino-Hunter, which is cool! And they would also make use of the Personal Vehicle rules from Quartermaster’s Guide To Gear. 

I chose Everest because she gave me the most unique options, and one I was surprised to realize I’d never used.

Role

Ranger (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Now, I can’t be sure (because searching my Essential Builds working file for “Ranger” nets 173 returns, mostly Power Rangers related) but I believe this is the blog’s first Ranger. And since I designed it, I have thoughts. 

I went into the Ranger with an eye for a sweet spot. As an environmental specialist, the Role needed to be noticeably better in specific circumstances, and therefore baseline a little worse in every other situation, but not so much in either direction that it threw off the balance of the group. For that reason, I think Adaptation is one of the most clever mechanics I ever designed. It toggles between limited and unlimited access to the Role’s abilities, based on their current and preferred environments. 

And just like the JOEs assign arctic troopers like Snow Job and Iceberg to non-arctic missions, The Paw Patrol calls on Everest even if snow isn’t part of the job. They just call on her more when it is. 

As a Ranger, Everest gets multiple Environmental Exposure abilities to represent what she’s learned for and from surviving in her environment. We’ll give her the utility options. Tracker, Kitbasher, and Natural Medic all feel like the kind of options a rescue pup would need to know. We would have given her Weapon Training first, to get her Qualified with the Grappler, a Restricted weapon, if that wasn’t already part of her Faction. 

Faction

Freedom Fighters (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures)

Expect to see Intercontinental Adventures in the Faction section a lot, because the Generic Factions it introduces are dream makers for this blog. No, I did not add them to Intercontinental Adventures just for the sake of Essential Builds, but yes, I was giddy at the potential they unlocked as I wrote them. 

Part of defining a generic Freedom Fighter faction is determining what four Skills (one per Essence Score, best represent it. For Paw Patrol, those Skills are Brawn (because no job is too big, no pup is too small), Driving, Alertness, and Persuasion. 

Focus

Peacekeeper (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters)

No need to swap Focus options here, the Peacekeeper Ranger Focus from Factions In Action vol 1 is the perfect fit for a rescue pup. 

Also, in case it wasn’t clear, I’m avoiding any ironically funny choices for a Paw Patrol character. Yes, I could have made Everest a Silent Weapons Expert, and sure, the character is more combat capable by default than we’ve seen her portrayed in media. But the challenge here is capturing her as sincerely as she’s represented. 

Personal Vehicle

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Quartermaster’s Guide To Gear introduces Personal Vehicle rules for campaigns in which all characters mount up. You don’t have to get further into an episode of Paw Patrol than the intro to see how heavily the character’s vehicles play into the narrative. 

A personal vehicle is defined as “a vehicle that is no larger than Long, can be operated by 1 driver, and whose Threat Level is no higher than half the PC’s Threat Level.” That means Everest is stuck with a Surveillance Cycle at level 1. However, by level 8 she’ll unlock access to the Polar Battle Bear, which is the closest a G.I. JOE vehicle comes to her trusty Snow Cat. Yes, even more than G.I. JOE’s Snow Cat (which is too large for her to ever gain as a personal vehicle, unfortunately). 

Origin

Driven (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time)

Not something I thought I’d ever think, but it feels good to be moving away from the G.I. JOE content for this build. Makes me wonder if Paw Patrol really is a paramilitary strike force disguised as a rescue team…

Driven’s a fun Origin. Even though it is found in the Power Rangers time travel sourcebook, it could have fit into the Core Rulebook. It’s about taking risks and not giving up, which combine to cover, like, half the themes of Paw Patrol episodes. 

Because we’re making a pup, we’ll also be adding the Quadepedal Origin option from the Gen Con Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle Event – Character Preparations blog post. Being better at unarmed combat doesn’t benefit Everest, but obviously having four legs does. 

Influences

1st Adventurer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Community Helper (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Spring Into Action (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I confess, this isn’t the most exciting selection of Influences. It’s not even that specific to Everest, but rather represents the standard issue Paw Patrol Influences. I’m not sure what the perfect Everest Influence would look like.

Essence Scores and Skills

Social 6

Paw Patrol missions are pretty evenly split between helping people and helping animals, so I’ve given her 4 Ranks in Persuasion (to meet her Faction Access requirements) and 2 in Animal Handling and Persuasion. That does mean we aren’t getting anything out of our Focus’ 1st level Perk, and honestly, in retrospect, I wish Peacekeeper’s Cultural Connection Perk went both ways, and let us use Persuasion on Culture Skill Tests.

Speed 5

I don’t love that Everest’s Speed is so high, but there are a few reasons for it. First of all, Driving is a Speed Skill. Second of all, we’re using Driving to meet the other +d8 Rank in a Freedom Fighter Skill and gain access to the faction. Third of all, the grappler weapon that we’re using to represent her grappling hook is a rare Finesse-only weapon. It’d be nice if we could get Aggressive Driver at 1st level, so that she could use Strength to increase her Driving Skill, but alas.

Smarts 4

Most of the missions we see Everest partake in are arctic rescue missions. For that, she needs Ranks in Survival. I went all in, with all 4 of her Smarts Skill Points going into that Skill. Because the Natural Medic Environmental Exposure lets us use Survival to heal damage, Everest will be able to double as scout and healer by level 2. 

Strength 1

Although Everest is one of the biggest pups, she’s never been depicted as especially strong. So we may be settling on Strength 1, with both Ranks going into Athletics for her winter sport skills, but it’s not the worst. 

Conclusion

I joked about this not being the first time I write about Paw Patrol on the site, but truthfully, it’s probably the last. My daughters have both aged out of the show and toys. However, last weekend, our local theatre had a Community Day where families could see select movies for free. Curiously, the only movies they offered were the two Paw Patrol movies. Because the movies skew a little older than the show, and my daughters liked the first one but hadn’t seen the second, we made an outing out of it. 

The next time I do something Paw Patrol related, it’s probably packing up our toys. I thought I’d close up this era with a nod to a brand that just happened to play a big part in my family’s life for a few years, and a little part in the design of Essence20. 

Resources

Field Guide to Action & Adventure

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2 

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game: A Jump Through Time

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Jason Lautenschleger – Guest

Barry McLaughlin – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Listen Now!(mp3)

It’s difficult to believe it’s already that near-end of summer when it was just the first bud of spring as the award-winning Tian Xia World Guide came out and dove into its mechanics and lore. Yes, award-winning, in case you missed my last article where I talked of news from Gen Con including Paizo winning the gold ENnie for the World Guide! Player Core won a silver, and let me tell you that Player Core 2 is, in my opinion, silver if not gold as well. Yes, of course I’m biased, but like I love this stuff and look forward to a glorious retirement one day of gaming. Yeah, you heard me! Y’all we gotta get in retirement communities and run some epic games. But back to Tian Xia, because it’s time to make some characters! The Tian Xia Character Guide is now available! In this article, we’ll start with all the ancestry goodies and the next will focus on class and archetypes!

Well before we get to ancestries, we’ve got new Backgrounds as is typical for a setting area. Runaway Noble is giving Marle from Chrono Trigger, but I love the Gossip to make that older Auntie character. Of course there’s some rare ones that really get me intrigued like the Banished Celestial!? Yes I want a special ability called Enlightenment in Adversity that’s if you critically fail your skill you get with the background, next time you get to roll twice and take the higher, a la advantage. But really it’s the idea of what you’re playing that’s so cool and you can choose ANY skill for that skill you get, plus one Lore. Fated Rival is perfect for that classic anime feel. It can set up a great bit of story for your GM to use, so I immediately love it. I adore when players give us tasty bits of story to play with and expand. Kaiju Stalker is as it sounds and I like that your extra benefit is being better at recalling knowledge using Kaiju Lore, which you are trained in. The Zodiac Bound background is one very much tied to the power of that manifestation, and you get to choose which it is, which impacts the special ability you get from ignition at will with the Underworld Dragon sign to the clear mind spell once per week if born under the Dog. These follow the Dragon Empires Zodiac, perfect for a character that wishes to focus on the fortune telling or oracular work in Tian Xia.

After some lovely details on the magic, the spirit world, the elemental cycle, and the Zodiac followed by the peoples of Tian Xia, we move to the People themselves. And wow, there’s so much great stuff here. I love how we get the cultural influences upon many different ancestries. The World Guide already provided that, but there’s even more crunchy mechanics now to back that up. First, we learn more about the humans, the elves, the Amurruns (Catfolk), and more. Who are the Jorogumo? The prevalence of the Oni and Nagas in Tian Xia is covered. Really these are lore details to help you flesh out your character, but then we get into the real crunch. First, like I said, these are specific heritages and for characters of these ancestries with a Tian Xia origin. So please remember to honor and celebrate that!

A Dokkaebi Goblin in an onggi pot

The Dokkaebi Goblins are those of the Hwangott we’ve covered before with their beautiful earthenware pots called onggi that many collect. There’s even a sidebar about it, and y’all know I love a sidebar. The actual heritage option gives you the figment cantrip at will, as well as a bonus versus illusions. Some higher level feats give you the ability to use darkness and ventriloquism; that’s Whispers in the Night. There’s a 17th level feat that builds about the 5th level Glorious Gamtu, basically the first celebrating the mystical power that is a hat. You can even give it to another creature to wear and it has a 2 action ability to do invisibility. The 17th level version let’s you do a 6th-rank invisibility. Yet also you can take the hat off to appear and put back on to disappear from view; the invisibility duration continues even when the hat is taken off. I find this adorable and hope it’s draw from some story of these adorable people. Following that we get an exciting new versatile heritage, the Hungerseed. These oni-descended folks have horns and can even gain an Oni Form. They’re certainly major combatants with intimidating third eye or melee-related abilities. The Kijimuna gnomes are a gnome heritage and their people are closely tied to trees and water, perfect for those living along riverways or forested coastal, tropical areas. There’s just something about speaking with plants that’s fun for me, and their 13th level Arboreal Conversationalist lets you do just that twice per day.

The Heavenscribe Kobold of Tian Xia

We get two Tian Xia heritages for Kobolds: Heavenscribe and Mightyfall. Do you want to be tied to the power of the celestial imperial dragons? Heavenscribe is for you, letting you speak Draconic and be better at diplomacy (well technically you can’t critically fail Making an Impression or asking for a Request). Mightyfall on the other hand have more hit points and have a different ability attribute array option, getting a bonus to Strength and Charisma, and a flaw to Intelligence if so desired. Their 13th level Kaiju’s Footfalls allows you to enlarge yourself twice a day and possibly knock creatures down when you Jump or Leap near them. The Leshy of Tian also have two heritages: the Chrysanthemum and the Peachchild. The former look like human children but with a crown of chrysanthemums growing from their head. Not sure where that comes from, but assuming there’s a story there. I tried a google search but couldn’t find the history. The peachchild are semi-human in appearance but their peachy flush to their skin and leaves growing from their body. While the chrysanthemum children can create antidotes from their flowers, the peachchildren are good with household animals and livestock, being able to use diplomacy toward them. There’s a Childlike Plant 1st level feat either can take to become trained in Deception and they don’t need a disguise kit to Impersonate humans. You even get a +4 bonus to do so. Be careful of that though, when you never grow older there’s bound to be rumors that spread about your ancestry. Continuing the trend, the Lizardfolk get the Bakuwa and the Makari heritages. The Bakuwa are covered in bony plates, getting some item bonus to AC (+4 in fact) while the Makaara have some divine magic in their blood. Any spells or magical abilities you get from ancestry feats become divine and you get to cast divine lance or forbidding ward. Not bad at all! 

The Dijiang are so cute

Now breaking the trend comes the Sprite with four (yes four) heritages: Dijiang, Gandharva, Kanchil, and the Leungli. Are you an adorable short furry creature with six legs and four wings that has no face, mouth, eyes… But they still eat and talk just fine! You’re tied to chaos and when you roll a failure on an emotion saving throw, you get a success instead! The Gandharva are tied to music and dancing, godly ones, and you are something of equine bird and humanoid nature. They too get their powers from the divine and are trained in Performance! The Kanchil are a combo of mouse deer and hooves but you’re persuasive and clever with training in Deception and a bonus to Lie. Finally the Leungli are something else. I found (simple google search to wikipedia mind you) that there’s a tale about a friendship between a young woman and a magical goldfish who would help her. These sprites have a swim speed and are amphibious with the head of a goldfish and scales of stark and brilliant colors. Seems like they’d be great for an explorative game near the sea or underwater campaign! The Tsukumogami Poppets really excited me though. These are tools brought to life and I love the idea of a kitchen witch enchanting one or an old grandfather who carefully and lovingly worked a garden bringing life to a spade from their care. They’re great at aiding you, increasing the bonus to +2 or +3 with the Helpful Poppet feat. The Kitsune get a new heritage called the Palace Echoes Kitsune, known for influencing royalty and possibly even taking the throne! I love how their feats can improve their shape shifting. The Nagaji Shimmertongue heritage have a magicsense out 30’ and gain some feats to choose from including a Hypnotic Gaze, a 9th level evolution to the Hypnotic Lure. Once per day you can now affect all creature in a 30’ cone instead of just one creature. I’d definitely take that!

But the Oracular Samsaran are even cuter!

Moving to new Ancestries, we first get Samsaran, which are new to 2E and Core!. Their heritages focus primarily on their past lives like the Oracular who focused on insight into the spiritual world or the Healers who wandered and traveled, frequently dealing with dangerous encounters and thus developing careful medical techniques. The Oracular get a cantrip of any tradition while the Healers are trained in Medicine. There’s also the Mountaineer, the Sanctuary, and the Wilderness Samsarans. I love the 5th level Thousand-Year Grudge reaction where you succeed at a demoralize check. One of the creatures you demoralized becomes sickened instead of frightened as you focus your frustration and despair at them. 

In the dark of the New Moon Sarangay

The Sarangay are not minotaur, but are bovine in nature. Their First Ancestor is Father Moon and they seek to protect nature with heritages focused on phases of the moon. Those heritages are their clans and thus tell the story of their people. The New Moon Sarangay are sometimes referred to as dwarf like for example as they are known for hiding, hunting in the darkness of the new moon. I love the shadowy New Moon Sarangay art. They start with 10 hit points instead of 8 and are great at using Athletics to Shove, getting a +2 circumstance bonus. Perhaps a great shadow sorcerer build with their bonus to Charisma? Each also bears a head gem, which houses their soul that they exchange with their partner when they fall in love! Thus there are feats that benefit them as well like the 1st level Awakened Jewel that lets you choose an occult cantrip to cast at will. One of the coolest feat names I’ve ever seen is Smoke Through Bamboo. This 5th level feat lets you navigate forests and thick brush wish ease. You can step 10 feet instead of five. This lets you Step into and within difficult terrain. I love it!

So Even-Tempered

The Tanuki are adorable shapeshifters who look like raccoons or dog-like ones anyway. I’d say I’d love to make an inventor / gunslinger one but I’m afraid Disney would come for me. Their heritages are tied to the virtue that sings in their heart including Ascetic, Even-Tempered (seen above), Courageous, Steadfast, and Virtuous. But it’s really a playful combo of this for example the Courageous Tanuki can gain the fleeing condition and stride when they are frightened and the Virtuous carry alcohol with them, while also having a poison resistance. You can’t be incapacitated by conventional alcohol either, so you know that Tanuki is extremely Virtuous. They’d never drink to excess… And while yes, we’re pretty focused on mechanics here, another sidebar caught my attention. The Fox-Racoon Wars! Yes, you read that right, the kitsune and tanuki are apparently infamous for feuding with one another. I’m imagining frenemies as it notes these aren’t violent, but maybe catty. They mock one another’s shapeshifting as the tanuki find kitsune snobbish, while the kitsune in turn think tanuki crude. Where’s the comic for this?

The bad ass Shadow of the Smith

The Wayangs are another 1E ancestry we haven’t seen yet for 2E. Each of the 5 heritages is tied to how your shadow behaves and what it does from dancing to hiding secrets to all but you, though there’s also the Shadow of the Wanderer. Those Wayang have a shadow that charges ahead and your character’s speed is 5 feet better. Shadow of the Smith has some gorgeous art as seen above and the ability to plunge your weapon into your shadow, and then strike with it to dazzle your foe! All wayangs have a tie to the Netherworld and darker places and you can see that in feats like Shadowplay, a one-action 5th level feat. If you used a melee Strike that damaged your opponent with your last action, you detach from your shadow, it tumbles through their space with a +2 bonus, and then flanks with you for your last attack. Great opening round on an enemy! By 17th level you can take Dissolution’s Sovereignty and convince an enemy’s shadow to fight with you. You use duplicate foe effectively, though it gets 15 extra hit points if the target was in darkness.

Transcend the Azimuth

Love them but I was more interested in the Yaksha, which have their origins in Hindu beliefs. They are nature spirits, and indeed they have the Spirit trait! Each heritage is tied to a particular vow, adding a particular edict to each character. Apparently new anathema are possible too but I didn’t see that with those provided. Deny the Firstborn Pursuit where you must confront cruel fey or there’s also the Respite of a Thousand Roofs where you must help the impoverished. Their feats tend toward the spiritual or primal at least like the 1st level Meticulous Restorer where you waste nothing in fixing crafts, gaining Quick Repair that can’t critically fail. Or maybe Stem the Tide at 5th level makes more sense, granting the primal protector tree spell that improves over your character’s career. I love fey in games, but these are far more guardian-like in their behavior since they seem more calm, even-tempered and not prone to First World politics. I’m sure to play one when I can. The 17th level Transcend the Azimuth (seen above) allows you to use cosmic form once per day as your shadow lengthens into a mandala of the primal energies of the universe. Even better, you can sustain the spell to switch between sun and moon battle forms!

Finally we get the new Yaoguai, and that Born of Animal image above made me think of Inuyasha at first. But no, that’s one of the heritages where you were an animal until the sun’s power enlightened you. The Yaoguai were all animals, plants, or other mundane objects until something blessed them with sapience. You might be Born of a Celestial, escaped the higher realms or were punished into a mortal shell. You get to make your ancestry powers divine rather than occult or anything else from heritages. Maybe you were part of nature like a facet of rain or wind. If you were an object, maybe the sun or moon graced you with power. And of course, you might’ve been a plant, a beautiful flower or a weed. You aren’t a spirit like the Yaksha, nor a Leshy, or a Poppet, but a creature awakened and growing. I think it’s important to focus on the “If you want to play…” final paragraph of these ancestries to help guide you. In this case, it’s about transcendence and change. There’s an archetype about that, but we’ll save that for next time. Instead, before we close I wanted to call out the 5th level Signature Weapon feat that can improve at 13th level with another feat. You name your weapon, granting you its critical specialization effect. You can also spend an action to summon it to you if it’s unattended within one mile. By 13th level, it also becomes treated like dawnsilver, duskwood, and peachwood for overcoming resistances to help you fight undead and foul spirits.

You might have noticed I saved talking of the authors and designers out. Well I wanted to put it here at the end. I’ve had the amazing pleasure of meeting James Case, the Design Lead, in person and I so love what he’s done with this book, working with Joshua Birdsong, Logan Bonner, and Michael Sayre. Editing in here to add that the Development Lead is Eleanor Ferron with Jason Keely, Luis Loza, and Landon Winkler as supporting developers. A big thanks to Editing Lead Ianara Natividad with a number of supporting editors, including my fellow Valiant player Avi Kool! There’s a plethora of authors and other contributors, so do look to social media as they share their contributions. Next time, actually while I’m away on vacation, Part 2 will come out all about the Character Options in this magnificent book! Please be sure to celebrate Labor Day safely as the summer nears its end, perhaps with a bit of Pathfinder eh? Do invest in the Tian Xia Character Guide and share with us what you’re creating! Be well and much love!

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Tian Xia Character Guide cover, Paizo, art by Ekaterina Gordeeva

1. Introduction excerpt, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
2. Introduction banner, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
3. Magic and the Spirit World banner, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
4. Onggi, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
5. Heavenscribe, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
6. Dijiang, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
7. Oracular Samsaran, Character Guide, Paizo
8. New Moon Sarangay, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
9. Even-Tempered Tanuki, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
10. Shadow of the Smith, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
11. Transcend the Azimuth, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo
12. Born of Animal, Tian Xia Character Guide, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Ellie Dix – Guest
Danielle Reynolds – Host

Welcome to Essential Builds, bub, the blog that turns popular culture icons into Essence20 Player Characters. 

I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting. 

Today, I’m building Wolverine as a rally truck.  

This one takes some explaining. 

Who Is Crossovers Wolverine?

In 2008, Hasbro’s line of licensed Star Wars Transformers mutated into Transformers Crossovers, a line that now included both Star Wars and Marvel (oddly, before Disney owned either property). Over the next couple of years, they release three versions of a Wolverine Transformer that converted into a rally truck: one in a brown and yellow deco that doesn’t really match the earthtones of his brown costume but is clearly meant to be that one, one in black and silver with red highlights to represent his time as the leader of the X-Force strike team, and one in his classic blue and yellow costume. 

This is the Wolverine I’m building. 

Why?

I mentioned a few times in my Deadpool build that I was saving some options for a Wolverine build. I didn’t intend to get to Wolverine so soon (I like diversifying the source material of the subjects I cover), but with so many ideas fresh in my mind, and Deadpool & Wolverine joining the Billion Dollar Club, it felt like the right time to get to the X-Men’s most mysterious member.

So that explains why Wolverine, but why the Transformers version? 

One, even though there were a lot of options that I considered for Deadpool that work better for Wolverine, there are also a lot of options I used that work equally for both. I don’t want this build to cover the same ground as my last build. 

Two, a lot of Transformers options are, for obvious reasons, tied to the idea of a robot that can change into things. That makes them unusable unless our subject meets that exact criteria. Well, Crossovers Wolverine fits that bill*, and since he won’t show up in a Renegade product**, this felt like a fun way to build Wolverine in an all new, all different direction. 

*Technically the Transformers Crossovers are mechs ridden by the character they’re based off, but the Transformers Crossovers lore is tenuous and unexplored, and the Marvel ones didn’t even come with pilots, unlike the Star Wars Transformers. 

**Barring some licensing gymnastics that would impress even Simone Biles.  

Building Crossovers Wolverine

My three priorities are:

1. Integrated melee weapon master;
2. Healing/Repairing Factor;
3. Mysterious. 

I have a half-dozen Influences in mind, so it’s going to take a lot of slashing to narrow them down. Speaking of slashing!

Role

Warrior (Transformers Core Rulebook)

As the designer of the Warrior Role, I hope you believe me when I say I did not have Wolverine in mind when I wrote it. I bring this up because the Role Perk covers so much of this build’s needs, even I’m questioning my intent. 

Hardcore lets us ignore damage that would Defeat us, but it costs us a limb. There’s our healing factor (and one of my motivations to make Crossovers Wolverine instead of vanilla Wolverine—as a Cybertronian Perk, we would not gain this benefit if we swapped settings). Push Through The Pain is another good representation of Wolverine’s healing factor, Tough It Out is even better, and Soldier On caps it off nicely. 

Manifest Melee Weapon means we can deploy our claws. It’s not a huge advantage, mechanically, over drawing a weapon or using an Internal Hardpoint for an Integrated Melee Weapon, but narratively it’s perfect. It also improves as we level up. Technically we can get chainsaw claws (chainclaws) at 16th level, which isn’t representative of Wolverine but it’s a cool visual for a Wolverine-looking transformer. 

Wisdom Through Experience both has Wolverine tapping into his foggy memory and doubles as him using his animalistic traits when examining a location. Leatherhead on the Renegade Discord Server suggested that Wisdom Through Experience would have been a good way to represent Deadpool’s 4th wall breaking. I like that a lot, but it also works for Wolverine’s flashbacks. 

Focus

Shredder (Decepticon Directive)

I did not design this Focus, so I can’t speak to whether Bryan had Wolverine in mind when he designed it, but I would not be surprised. He probably had Shredder in mind, come to think of it…

One issue with the Warrior Role for this build is that Manifest Melee Weapon only ever lets us manifest one melee weapon. I think we can count three claws as one close combat blade, but not two hands of claws. Luckily, Shredder lets us deal Sharp damage with our unarmed attacks. It even gives us a Multiple Targets alternate effect! This does mean our unarmed attacks are better than any Standard melee weapon, so until we get Expanded Arsenal at 7th level, there’s little reason to Manifest Melee Weapon. Unless we consider claws out Wolverine’s natural state, and we manifest a close combat bludgeon as an adamantium fist.

As we level up, we get better with our sharp unarmed attacks, able to Grapple targets and deal additional damage to them. 

Melee builds can struggle in Essence20, but Warrior (Shredder) is as dangerous as it is resilient. 

Origin

Outrider (Transformers Core Rulebook)

Before we begin, now’s a good time to mention that Transformers Crossovers Wolverine was not my only option for a Wolverine with an alt mode. Years earlier, Toy Biz released a series of toys called Shape Shifters, including a Wolverine that could convert into a wolf. If I really wanted to avoid building a Transformer release, I could have gone that direction and given him the Monstrosity Origin from Decepticon Directive. But since Wolverine turning from a feral human with claws into a wolf is not a huge leap (and why not a wolverine?), Crossovers Wolverine just felt like a more interesting build. 

I went with the off-road vehicle chassis, the Outrider from the Transformers CRB. Now, being about as far from a car guy as they come, I’m not really sure what a rally truck. I assume it’s a truck that races in the mud, but maybe it’s some kind of sports car support vehicle that doesn’t go anywhere near dirt roads. Even if that’s the case, Outrider’s Origin Benefit, which not only lets it ignore Rough Terrain but counts as being in Cover when in Rough Terrain, harkens back to Wolverine’s many forest fight scenes in comics, cartoon, and cinema.

Also, as I’ve apologized for before, yes, it’s my fault that there’s an Outrider Origin and Focus in the TF CRB.

Influences

1st Tragedy (Cobra Codex)

2nd Brutish (Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)

3rd Nemesis (Decepticon Directive)

Wolverine has suffered more than most comic characters, and not just because he’s as old as every love interest he’s ever had combined. Tragedy made a lot of sense for the build, giving him a bonus to a Defense. I went with Willpower, because of his resolve. Had this been an Influence with a Hang-Up, I would have dinged Cleverness, because Wolverine has a history of being manipulated. 

For the next Influence, I debated between Brutish and Checkered Past. Both give a situational Edge at the cost of a situational Snag on Social Skill Tests. The difference is the theme. While Checkered Past invokes Wolverine’s military history and tendency to clash with Cyclops, I went with Brutish because a lot of my builds have Checkered Past. Brutish gets to the same place while reflecting Wolverine’s animalistic side. 

Finally, I took a fun Influence from Decepticon Directive: Nemesis. This story-driven Influence lets us cast a figure from our past as an NPC of importance. While Wolverine has a lot of enemies, no one gets under his skin like Sabertooth. My favourite example of their utter intolerance for one another is in What If… the Marvel Super-Heroes Had Lost Atlantis Attacks? In one of the comics that gave What If..? it’s reputation for bodycounts, only a handful of super powered beings remain to save humanity from Set the serpent god. This includes both Wolverine and Sabertooth. Even though they are humanity and mutantkinds’ last hope, one prickly comment from Sabertooth has Wolverine ready to throwdown with his adversary. 

The question is, what would a Cybertronian Sabertooth turn into? 

Essence Scores and Skills

Strength 5

I’m always happy when I build a Strength-based combat character. Wolverine could have been Finesse-based, but he’s such a brutal fighter that Might felt like the way to go. I gave him +d6 with a Specialization in Melee weapons. I also gave him a Rank in Athletics.  

Smarts 5

Wolverine is the X-Men’s tracker, so +d6 Survival and Alertness +d4 covered that skill set, and gave him a decent Smarts without giving Wolverine much in the way of intellectual Skills. 

Speed 4

I stayed conservative with Crossover Wolverine’s speed, only giving him +d4 Infiltration, and +d2 Driving and Initiative. In retrospect, maybe I should have given him Driving instead of Athletics, since Athletics is more of a fleshy Wolverine choice. However, since he ignores Rough Terrain thanks to his Origin, we might be able to get away with a Transformer PC with a low Driving Skill. 

Social 2

Finally, I gave Wolverine +d4 Streetwise. I thought about giving him Animal Handling, but most interactions I can think of between Wolverine and animals do not end well for the animals. 

General Perks and Other Options

We’ll want to get Acute Sense (Smell) ASAP. I regret that I didn’t give it to Wolverine at 1st level.

Otherwise, this being a combat character, the usual suite of combat-focused General Perks apply, but I want to give a shout to Martial Weapon Master from Intercontinental Adventures. It gives us an Upshift on Martial Arts weapon attacks, which will help us mitigate the ↓1/↓2 of a six claw attack. 

There was some debate on the Renegade Discord about how the Empty Hands General Perk from the same book applies if you have Integrated weapons. If your GM allows you to allow you to take this General Perk despite and Hardpoint Weapons you install, it pairs perfectly with the Shredder Focus.

Speaking of Hardpoints, that’s one area I struggled with for this build. We have our Integrated melee weapons covered multiple times over, and the toy doesn’t have any ranged weapons build into it. It does, however, have a winch for a chin, spare tires, and a bumper. Basically, we can load Wolverine up with support equipment to diversify his functions and bring to life the toy’s details.

If you decide Wolverine’s military training justifies mounting an assault rifle, you’ll need to invest in Targeting, a Skill I skipped specifically because I didn’t have any ranged weapons in mind.

Conclusion

Shoot. I didn’t give Wolverine any My Little Pony options…

Well, that aside, I think we have a near perfect Wolverine build, which is surprising since Hugh Jackman never turned into a truck. 

Most of this build still applies to a traditional Wolverine build, of course. Just swap out Outrider with Test Subject from Cobra Codex, and Shredder with Silent Weapons Expert from Intercontinental Adventures.

Resources

Field Guide to Action & Adventure

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex
G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2 

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive

Listen Now!

Listen Now!(mp3)

Those highlights include the biggest Welcome To Night Vale RPG news since it was announced. And yes, it is run on Essence20! For more information, check out these Glass Cannon Network videos:

Welcome to Night Vale Character Creation

Welcome to Night Vale RPG One-Shot

Welcome to Night Vale RPG Interview with designer Carlos Cabrera

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the host works for Renegade Game Studios, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

In A Palace!

And since, like I said, I didn’t get to Gen Con, I wanted to make sure to review all that did happen (primarily from a Paizo perspective) and all we did learn about so I can be ready for the months ahead. Also, I’m definitely going to PAX Unplugged in Philly so it’ll also be a bit of prep for that! But really the hype started before Gen Con actually with the news about Pathfinder (or Starfinder) in a Palace. This first time is in the Philly area and I’m quite tempted. I’m wondering if any Order of the Amber Die folks (many are in that area) would join too. For ~$1K you get your hotel room (Holiday Inn & Suites), food, drinks, snacks, adult beverages, and the gaming over a weekend. There’s the museum, an estate house, and a cathedral that all look quite lovely. Check out that Bryn Athyn Historic District youtube vid below. For a little more you can arrive early/stay a night extra for an extended week getaway. I’m quite tempted and talking to my friends about it. Could be a nice getaway, and I do love Philly! You get to choose your adventure to play and of note, Prey for Death (by the lovely Vanessa Hoskins) is a choice!!! I’m sure more from War of the Immortals will find its way to the list. I’ll let you know if I end up going and maybe I can meet some readers!

Starfinder 2E

Gen Con brought many announcements. First and foremost, I’ll start with the Starfinder2E playtest launch! I even had someone inquire to me specifically about my investing in of such; shout out to Descriptivist! You can get the playtest rulebook online, for a free PDF I might add! I’ve already started messing around with character creation in Herolab as they have a free 2nd Edition playtest running for free or paid accounts. It’s pretty great. I use it for Pathfinder2E a lot. I’m excited to dig into 2E for Starfinder and all it’s capable of. I recently had a friend saying he wanted to do a Star Wars campaign and I pointed him the way of Starfinder. He’s pretty psyched. There’s also an adventure for the playtest already available (though not free) called A Cosmic Birthday. It’s written by Jenny Jarzabski who is a co-lead for SF2E has been contributing to adventures and sourcebooks for some time, notably my favorite of Extinction Curse, the 2nd part titled Legacy of the Lost God. I’m hoping to find out what No Quest for the Wicked has in mind. They did a sneak peek of SF2E before and you should watch them for an exciting chance in the near future as their current Starfinder season wraps… By the by have you seen the cover art for Starfinder GM Core?

Tian Xia Character Guide & ENnies

Of course, and I’m very excited to release my article for such is the Tian Xia Character Guide! It’s available 8/28, so a couple weeks out by the time you’re reading this! We’re getting remaster info in there for Samsarans and Wayangs, but also the Tanuki, the Sarangay, the Yaksha, and the Yaoguai. I love that the developers and writers got to bring their cultures forward in this book, and others, so do remember to be respectful and do some research on the origins. There will be lots more ancestry details for Tian Xia characters of various heritages as well. You might have heard actually that the World Guide won the Gold ENnie for best setting while Player Core picked up silver for best rules! Congrats Paizo and to all those involved! 

Adventures Ahead

Erik Mona and team also unveiled the Pathfinder adventures to come. The Claws of the Tyrant adventure will be a hardcover in three parts, starting low level, taking you through mid level, and then finally high level. They’re stand alone adventures though, so could be for different groups. Could be useful at a con… Maybe we’ll get lucky and see something of it at PAX U? Probably not, but I can dream. It’s supposed to come out early 2025. Then, from the adventure path perspective, is the Spore War. The first will come out in December, following all related to the War of the Immortals events this summer/fall and then the Triumph of the Tusk adventure path. Spore War is all about Kyonin and the war with the vile Treerazer, a dangerous demon lord that’s long terrorized the elves. It’s not clear if you’ll have to go into Tanglebriar – the foul swamp home of Treerazer – but I wouldn’t be surprised. 

Finally, and I have little info on this path, but Shades of Blood will come spring of 2025 all about some surviving Azlanti vampires who want to block out the sun. Interesting that image for the Starfinder GM Core featuring a ruthless looking azlanti… There’ll be a setting book called Rival Academies as well, featuring various schools across Golarion in “a World’s Fair-style festival of magic, science, and invention” to quote the official press release. I first saw it announced by Wargamer but it will include the Academy of the Reclamation, Cobyslarni, Kitharodian Academy, the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves, the University of Lepidstadt, and of course the Magaambya. Presumably each school will be an actual school for the Wizard class. Also, importantly, the Runelord archetype will be introduced in this setting book. I know many – myself included – are intrigued by how that archetype will work after the wizard changes. It too will come in the spring! There’s still a ton of excitement to come for this year of course. War of the Immortals as noted, kicking off with part 3 of Curtain Call. I’ll also be reading Godsrain when it comes out! It’ll all tie in with Divine Mysteries, which Luis discussed during the keynote that is also on youtube for you to view. I love that it’s a psychopomp – apparently named Yuvali if my spelling is correct – that’s lending an in-character voice as they write of the changing divinities. I love this technique much like they’ve done for in-character voice perspectives for other books. I so want more detail on Arazni, so I’m very excited.

Love These Folks

Some quick shout outs first to Stephen Koontz, who ran some 5th Conspiracy at Gen Con. I’m working on a pretty detailed article to discuss his game (our game) as our season ended. I hope he’s back at PAX U because you need to play! Also there was another Himbo game by Jay Foster and crew. Omega Jones, whose brand is now known as QR0WN, posted this amazing picture of the Himbros (as they called themselves) together as seen below. The moment I can find the recorded game on Youtube or twitch I will share! They played Tales of the Valiant and included a great cast of individuals. It sure looks like Jesse can take a lot of pinkies to the mouth. Sandeep sure jumped in to the fun too. It’s fun to see all the different individuals meeting one another as I saw No Cast run into Jesse and Johnny Stanton too. Love all the cool people doing things together. Oh yes, Gehenna Gaming also was there, featuring Eldritch Automata, which No Quest for the Wicked is also playing in promotion. See? Awesome people all coming together. That’s what Gen Con is all about!

If you went to Gen Con, tag me on your social posts! I want to see, or by all means start a chat via my posts for this article. I hope you’re investing in some fun gaming this summer, and if you’ve started playtesting Starfinder 2E let me know! And get that Covid booster!

https://twitter.com/QR0WNTV/status/1819711375997821050

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Gen Con 2024 program book cover, Gen Con, art by Elaine Ho

1. Starfinder GM Core cover, Starfinder GM Core, Paizo
2. ENnies award image, Paizo
3. Rival Academies promo image, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Carol Mertz – Guest
Danielle Reynolds – Host

Now Deadpool is taking over Essential Builds, the blog that wades into popular culture for Essence20 Player Characters. I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting. 

Since I’m a big enough Deadpool fan to post a video about baking the saddest looking Deadpool cookies (not as in pathetic, as in on the verge of tears), I’m inspired to put maximum effort into this build. And as a former writer of Looking For Group, I am all the way on board with Deadpool & Wolverine using #LFG, even if their version of its meaning is far too rude for this all ages blog. 

Who Is Deadpool?

Known as The Merc With The Mouth, Wade Wilson, the vigilante called Deadpool, is great at killing and even better at banter. Introduced in New Mutants as an assassin hired to eliminate Cable, the character reached unheard of levels of popularity and exposure three decades later. 

Like the Joker, comic book Deadpool has a flexible backstory up to interpretation. Few key players in his formative years hold any significant role in the modern Marvel timeline, leaving only Deadpool, a self-professed unreliable narrator, to tell his tale.

However, his movie origin is the generally accepted Deadpool backstory. From Regina, Saskatchewan, Wade joined a Special Forces unit. After developing an aggressive cancer, Wade looked beyond Canada’s impressive healthcare system and to military experimentation for the cure. He signed up for a Department K experiment to infuse him with Wolverine’s genetics in the hope that they would unlock a similar healing factor and cure him. 

The procedure was a success, but did not net the results he expected. Because cancer is a mutation rather than a wound, Deadpool found his body at war with itself on a cellular level. This took its toll on his physical appearance and mental health, but it did mean he could recover from otherwise fatal wounds. 

Work opportunities being limited for a regenerating degenerate, Deadpool became a gun (and sword) for hire, before settling into the less lucrative but ethically more empowering life of an anti-hero. 

Building Essence20 Deadpool 

Comic book YouTube channel Comic Tropes recently polled subscribers about what defined Deadpool for an episode on which writer had the biggest impact on the modern perception of Deadpool. The majority felt that, more than his powers, his look, and his origin story, Deadpool was defined by his personality. 

That will present an interesting challenge, but it will also add a lot of opportunities. If this was just a Deathstroke build, it would mostly be about his fighting skills. Deadpool’s personality being such an important element of the character means I need to look beyond combat effectiveness. 

Another challenge is Deadpool’s healing factor. Since there’s no Death condition, every character in Essence20 is unkillable. However, for balance reasons, we can’t make them unDefeatable. Luckily, how Essence20 abstracts damage means that high Health can feel similar to shrugging off injuries. But I’ll be exploring other options that feel truer to the concept. 

One last note: There are a lot of Deadpool-appropriate options in G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2, a book that technically won’t be out until October. However, because a selection of advanced copies sold at Gen Con last week, I feel comfortable drawing on a few foundational options for this build. Just don’t expect much more detail than you’ll find in the Table Of Contents that was shared by fan Jaredd Wilson from the copy he picked up in Indianapolis.  

Role

Yellow Ranger (Power Rangers Core Rulebook)

Initially G.I. JOE’s Commando seemed like the obvious Role for this build, but as I read it over, it felt too grounded for Deadpool. Also, none of the Focus options gave the perfect combination of swords and guns combat that I would have liked. I thought about combining the G.I. JOE Infantry Role with the Transformers Warrior Role’s Shredder Focus from Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive, but Shredder is such a perfect Focus for a Wolverine build, I decided to save it. 

So I expanded my search and remembered that the Yellow Ranger was one of the best melee Roles in Essence20. Triple Strike Attacks right out of the gate captures Deadpool’s frenzied twin-katana assaults (especially as represented in Ultimate Alliance, where he had one of my favourite attacks in that game, a spinning sword attack called Blade Cyclone), made even more real when we unlock Whirlwind Strike at 9th level. Nimble Fighter at 2nd level and Lightning Fast at 9th work for Deadpool’s acrobatic attack style, or, if you’re a Joe Casey era purist, his teleporter. 

As a reminder, when you change a Power Ranger Role’s Setting and Faction, it still gains Power Points. That’s another reason Yellow Ranger felt like a better fit than Commando. As a mutate (a human enhanced with mutant DNA in Marvel parlance), Deadpool can pull off super human feats. Even if they’re intended to be dramatized versions of peak human performances, Power Points help bolster what Deadpool can do. They represent the differences between Deadpool’s fighting style and Snake Eyes’.

Setting, Focus, and Faction

Setting: G.I. JOE (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) 

Given Deadpool’s military training, G.I. JOE felt like the most thematic choice. Choosing the G.I. JOE setting also opened up the perfect Deadpool faction.

Focus: Armiger (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex) 

Returning to Essential Builds after showing up with Mega Man, the Infantry Role’s Armiger Focus is great for both weapon specialists and mercs who pack a bag of weapons before every mission. Deadpool is somewhere in the middle, but with his sword skills covered by his Role, Armiger allows us to compliment them with a single firearm, like an SMG, or all of the accessories you’ve ever seen a Deadpool toy packed with. 

I would have loved to use the Transformers Gunner Role’s Triggerbot Focus from Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive, but for setting swapping reasons, I needed to pick a G.I. JOE Focus. 

Faction: Mercenary (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2 )

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2  introduces four new generic Factions, including Mercenaries. Each generic faction replaces the space normally dedicated to lore with sections on how to define the Faction, followed by the typical rules matter. Mercenaries are one of the easier generic Factions to define, but you do get to decide if you’re part of a group or an independent contractor. 

Origin

Marine (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt. Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack) 

Dare I confess something? 

I’m not sure what the Special Forces are.

This is embarrassing as someone so heavily involved in the design of the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game. I’m pretty sure they’re real. Like, it’s not just a catch-all term Hollywood created for better than average soldiers. But other than getting the gist of it, I can’t define it. 

All that to say, hopefully I’m not getting on any military buff’s bad side by choosing the Marine Origin to represent Deadpool’s military training. 

Truth be told, I thought about bringing Test Subject in for its third Essential Builds appearance. And unlike Leonardo and NFL Super Pro, who were accidents, Deadpool was actually the subject of tests! 

The reason I chose Marine over Test Subject was the Origin Benefit. Hard Corps lets you ignore the effects of one enemy attack once per combat. This is one of the choices I made to represent Wade’s healing factor. Specifically, the often comedic moments in battle where Deadpool suffers a horrific injury. More than just having high Health represent his ability to recover, Hard Corps lets the GM describe how Deadpool’s body was brutally mangled and for the player to explain how they’ve picked up their pieces and are carrying on. 

Influences

1st Intense (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

2nd Chatty (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Violent (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

Once again, I need to remind readers that the order of Influences is not a reflection of how much the theme applies to the character but how much the Hang-Up applies. 

Is Deadpool chatty? Cable told him as much in their first encounter (contrary to the urban legend that Deadpool wasn’t as much of a talker at first). Is Deadpool violent? Just ask -oop, I had a long list of people you could ask but they all met grizzly ends. 

Why neither is Deadpool’s first influence is that Chatty’s Hang-Up (suffering a Snag on Infiltration Skill Tests that involve being quiet) and Violent’s Hang-Up (suffering a Downshift on Skill Tests in combat that don’t deal damage) are spot on. 

I could have taken or left Intense, which gives Deadpool a bonus to Willpower to resist being told what he can and can’t do, but I needed an Influence without a Hang-Up and it worked. 

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 7

I often lament Speed-focused builds, because it’s too easy during character creation to load up on Initiative and Targeting and before you know it you already have Speed 5. But Deadpool is definitely a Speed-based fighter. I gave him three Ranks each in Finesse and Targeting, and a pity point in Acrobatics. Even though I could use a Rank in Initiative, and our Role Perks already cover Deadpool’s cartwheeling combat style, it felt weird not giving him any Acrobatics. 

Social 4

Deadpool may get on people’s nerves, but that’s all part of his charm. He’s also worldly in his understanding, but unfocused in how he got there. I gave him two Ranks each in Deception and Streetwise. You may want to pour it all into Streetwise, though, and let his weapons do the talking. 

Strength 3

Deadpool communicates through jokes that are usually veiled threats, so I gave him two Ranks in Intimidation. I would have gone three, but I gave him a point of Conditioning, just in case. 

Smarts 2

Not a dummy by any means, I couldn’t think of any Smarts Skill that suited Deadpool, other than Alertness, which got two Ranks. 

General Perks and Other Options

In the Origin section, I talked about considering Test Subject from G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex. The thing is, unlike the Marine’s Origin Benefit, I can still get the benefits of Test Subject (an Alternation) without taking the Origin. 

The Alteration in question is Skin Tempering. This gives us the benefits of a Battledress Upgrade, even when unarmored. As an Origin Benefit, we could have taken Limited Skin Tempering from 1st level. As a General Perk, we can take Standard Skin Tempering at 4th level, or Limited Skin Tempering at 8th level. Then, we’ll switch over to G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear for one of the Battledress Upgrades that gives the benefits of Body Armor. 

Instead of increasing a Defense, Body Armor acts more like damage reduction. Your Body Armor has a certain amount of Health, and when you’re successfully affected by the damage or weapon it’s built to resist, you remove its Health instead of your own. Deadpool’s body acting as body armor is perfect. I honestly didn’t think I’d find a healing factor stand-in mechanic that I was this happy with. 

I debated whether to take Ballistic Armor or Kinetic Armor upgrade. Ballistic applies against all ballistic weapons, but Kinetic only resists either Blunt or Sharp melee damage. I went for Ballistic because Deadpool gets shot more than he gets stabbed. 

We’ll skip the rest of the General Perks, since they’d mostly be combat oriented and would largely be from a book I can’t go into details about. 

Conclusion

Generally I have less fun with straight combat builds because there isn’t as much challenge and discovery. However, Deadpool had just enough elements off the beaten path that forced me to reexamine what was possible with Essence20. This build made me realize there are viable options to represent a healing factor. There are even some more extreme options I didn’t go into here. I need to save those for another Canadian with a healing factor absolutely tearing up the box office right now. 

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt. Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Intercontinental Adventures: Factions in Action Vol. 2 

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Listen Now!

**Apologies in advance for my poor audio – I am in the process of moving and my gear wasn’t set up properly – John**

Listen Now! (mp3)

Listen Now!(mp3)

Note: I might reupload this later. A chunk of audio is missing (it jumps from halfway through the Why to the start of the How). I need to investigate whether there was a glitch in the uploading that cut out a chunk or if I accidentally deleted that audio from the file.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the host works for Renegade Game Studios, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Meanwhile, since I’m finally up for some air after a busy couple months, I’m going to get into what’s got me so hyped for Player Core 2. Apologies for no articles for a bit. First my team worked with the Wizards of the Coast team to get their new marketplace live, then I was in Chicago for a big Salesforce convention where we got to talk WotC and our project, and then in July we launched the new Hasbro Pulse site. It’s been such a pleasure working with the e-commerce and IT folks on both sides, and I’m really proud of the work my team and their teams have done. And yes, they know I play Pathfinder primarily but all can appreciate good gaming! So I was thrilled that just after the Hasbro launch I got to start digging into Player Core 2 and now, here we are: August 1st and it’s time to share! Let’s go! 

Partly not to spoil surprises I might find in the book, but also because of the busy-ness this year I hadn’t gone looking for much detail of what I’d see updated/changed/added. It’s a lovely collection of rules for a core book, with those good changes and additions, as well as art! Like Player Core 1, the cover is from the amazingly talented Wayne Reynolds. I wasn’t quite sure what Fumbus is riding – it’s not a drake as it has front appendage arms and not just wings – but later discovered it’s a conspirator dragon. In fact, it’s Seoni shapechanged as such! A brilliant and beautiful piece. Considering Alchemist and Sorcerer are both covered in Player Core 2, it’s quite fitting. Of course so is the swashbuckler and Jirelle is being carried by Seoni. Art will always inspire so I thank all the artists appearing herein, let alone the Introduction calls out why you might be excited: More Of Everything!

Ancestries and Backgrounds gives us Catfolk, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, Lizardfolk, Ratfolk, Tengu, and the renamed Kholo (former gnolls) as well as the Tripkee (former grippli). There’s a Kholo monk in our Kingmaker game so I’m sure he’ll be excited to dig through the changes. Who doesn’t appreciate 2 pages of feats! He’ll be pleased to see the Kholo Lore update, i.e. getting Additional Lore in Kholo Lore like the other ancestry lore feats now grant. Tripkees I’m glad to see because of the references like in Howl of the Wild. Terrifying Croak is a new 1st level feat for them, allowing them to Demoralize without a shared language. And there’s a new 17th level feat called Unbound Leaper. You can jump 30 feet in the air, or 35 feet up if you have Fantastic Leaps, a level 5 feat available to them. Thrilled to get more versatile heritages too like Dhampir and Duskwalker for Core. However, there’s something I’ve heard from plenty of D&D folks and that they wanted to see a way to play their Dragonborn style characters, and you certainly can now!

Dragonblood! Considering the prevalence of those divine protector dragons over in Tian Xia, I was hoping for a way to do Dragonblooded! I like how based on the lineage you choose that can determine the Exemplar you might have for later feats or for sorcerer if you go Draconic bloodline! As a heritage you can really make up a draconic descended individual, half dragon and maybe go Dragon Disciple as an archetype. I haven’t heard of that being released for Remaster yet, however. You want a natural attack? There’s a feat for that like claws, jaws, or a tail. You want a breath weapon? Also a feat for that? Want resistance to energy damage? Feat. Draconic Sight lets you get low-light vision, or darkvision if you already had low-light. Scaly Hide gives you an item bonus to AC. And of course there’s Dragon Lore, which makes you trained in Diplomacy, Intimidation, and you get Additional Lore for Dragon Lore. All these options, level 1, how could you go wrong? You’ll be begging your GM for Ancestry Paragon as an optional rule! By the time you can take 17th level feats you can take the Form of the Dragon and cast dragon form as an 8th-rank innate spell once per day or Lingering Breath which creates difficult terrain for 1 minute and causes 2d6 persistent damage for any creature who fails their saving throws. Icy spikes of doom sounds fun!

Going through the Classes in chapter 2 there’s a bit of excitement for everyone. I’ve a friend named Kyle playing an Alchemist in one game, and he was thrilled to hear that the Bomber now gets intelligence modifier damage to splash at 5th level rather than needing a feat. Of course, everyone gets those Versatile Vials which you can replenish by 2 every 10 minutes of exploration, no matter what you’re doing. Never run out of those vials! And they get better over your character career, up to 4d6 damage at 18th level. There’s an item bonus to attacking with them too, +3 at 18th level. Of course, based upon your research field (and feats) they might do more. Bombers can change their energy damage instead of doing acid. Chirurgeons can heal with them! Mutagenists turn them into elixirs and help them suppress mutagenic drawbacks. And the toxicologists? They become poisons you get to add to your weapons. Great opportunity, expanded versatility, and really some much needed oomph to the alchemist. He also has an Investigator and they got updates to pursue a lead and devise a stratagem. Pursue a lead now isn’t so much about the clue you found, but whatever evidence you’re tracking which could be due to a recall knowledge or sense motive check! Meanwhile devise a stratagem could be used for skills, though that means you aren’t attacking your target. That’s great for skill encounters! Also, it’s a free action when you’re using it on a target you know will help answer a question for an investigation you currently have! That’s tremendous for the heroes’ action economy, which I know my buddy was always challenged with in combat.

The Barbarians can now use a free action to fly into their rage as initiative is rolled. Champions of course aren’t restricted by alignment, but there are some options that are specifically holy (Grandeur, Redemption) and unholy (Desecration, Inquiry). That leaves Justice, Liberation, and Obedience for those of any predilection. I’ve a friend (also Rob) building up a Champion and was looking at Liberator so that’ll still work for a holy option. It’ll be excited to see that play out. That kholo monk I mentioned won’t see much in the way of change; I’ve read that critical specialization is something they get now for free, which is good. That brings it to alignment with other martials. 

Oracle, Sorcerer, and Swashbuckler meanwhile all got some interesting additions. Oracle’s curse now just gets bad as it goes up, but you can refocus to bring it down to nothing. Thing is you’ll take feats and use focus powers that are so good, it’s worth the curse getting bad for a bit. Meanwhile the Sorcerer is now more powerful with Sorcerous Potency! Your spells that do damage or healing do more equal to the spell’s rank, only once to an individual creature but it can apply to multiple creatures! This is wonderful and a sorcerer in my brother’s game will very much appreciate this, especially when healing as he already had taken the Dangerous Sorcery feat. Moreover, some feats give additional Blood Magic options like Propelling Sorcery at 2nd level that lets you Step as a free action or move a target 5 feet. You actually can take a 1st level feat now called Blood Rising. As a reaction you can trigger a blood magic effect when you are targeted by a spell of the same tradition of your bloodline. You truly resonate with that magical power. It could be very beneficial if the blood magic effect boosts your AC or saving throw against whatever’s triggering it. The 14th level Reflect Harm let’s you flip the damage back on the person who hit you for example! And finally, the Swashbuckler now gets panache from actions that show Bravado. It’s a new trait and your actions will get it based upon the Swashbuckler’s Style you choose, but also the GM could just say hey you know what, that’s bad ass so you get panache too! Numerous feats can grant you panache or leverage it as well, like Charmed Life the reaction that gives you a bonus to a saving throw. Succeed with panache! Switcheroo is a new feat at level 10, but it requires you already have panache. Basically you can swap places with an enemy target as a reaction when you are targeted by a ranged attack, and the enemy becomes the target of it! I love the hilarity and usefulness of this.

There’s numerous Archetypes listed and I’ve been reading through. I went immediately to Assassin first as I was planning one up. I don’t know how I feel about the changes to Mark for Death. It used to give weapons backstabber and deadly and now it gives you sneak attack, but if you already have sneak attack it just increases it by 1 point of precision damage or 2 at level 6. There’s no more Sneak Attacker feat because of such, leaving you with only “additional feat” options at 6th level like Poison Weapon. However, you no longer need to have Alchemical Crafting and be trained in Crafting to take the Assassin Dedication. It’s not bad for a single action feat, and it’s nice to be able to be an assassin without poison making, but there’s certainly an impact to damage. However, late, the Assassinate feat at 12th level no longer has the incapacitation trait. The target can still survive if it critically fails the save if their level is higher than yours, but at least now if they are higher level and fail, it doesn’t get treated as a success. I also took a look at Beastmaster, because my brother is doing that archetype in our Kingmaker game. The real news is the 6th level free action Swift Guardian, allowing you to switch out what animal ally you have with you. A very nice move from your travel or search-based companion while in exploration mode to your fighting ally when you roll for initiative! Additionally, look at Blessed One for a similar reason. There’s far less additional feats, but that might be because the Champion doesn’t have class feats for what those feats were. Hoping we’ll see more in a future book and I won’t restrict or undo something from legacy one of my players would want to take. However, other GMs might, so definitely check with them!

I don’t have much to say for Celebrity, but I love the Shensen art as seen above! I’m always a fan of Shensen and now with the start of the Curtain Call adventure path, back in Kintargo, I’m happy to see her even more! Marshal is my friend Mike’s archetype in my brother’s game, and a notable change is the aura is always 15 feet. Dread Marshal Stance can’t increase it; there’s no Critical Success detail. I can appreciate having a standard size from now on, though it seems odd to have a critical failure option but no chance for a greater success. Medic is important to a number of people, and I don’t think it changed, but if it did please let me know. Ritualist doesn’t seem very different, but I noted that the Speedy Rituals benefits are not rolled into Efficient Rituals in that at 14th level, you can cast rituals that require days in hours instead! Also the Enterprising Ritualist 14th level is a new replacement. You can replace expensive components with your acumen, making spells like resurrect far cheaper! A great addition! Finally, also in the spirit of Kintargo again, Vigilante is included in Player Core 2. That same friend, Kyle, has Vigilante as the free archetype for his Investigator. A lot of changes came for his characters out of this book. Right at the end of the dedication feat there’s now a way to spend 1 week of downtime to create a new social identity if you lose the benefits from your identity being found out. Vigilante gets two pages so there’s plenty to read through, but otherwise all feats are updated appropriately to remove alignment and with proper traits.

First Feat I checked was Bon Mot as my Cleric uses it, but it didn’t change. Next up was Risky Surgery and no change there as well! Robust Health is 3rd level and General that many will take. It grants a circumstance bonus to Hit Points regained equal to your level when someone Treats your Wounds or uses Battle Medicine. Also, you’re only immune to Battle Medicine for an hour instead of 1 day. An extremely valuable feat! I thought Supertaster was new, but no. You can lick or taste something to help your Recall Knowledge; that was not something I realized you could actually do. I let No Quest for the Wicked know after Dain kept talking about such at the Starfinder game at PAX U. Definitely look for them at Gen Con! 

There’s plenty of Spells brought up to Remaster standards. The one to really discuss is a new cantrip called Live Wire. It’s arcane and primal, doing electricity damage as well as slashing damage. If you critically hit the target’s AC, you also do persistent electricity damage. Great for one target, though Electric Arc is still great for two targets. Apparently that there’s still some damage on the fail, even though it’s a targeted attack roll is really driving the players who learned of it to discussion. It’s only the electricity damage of 1d4 (per rank of spell) but still, that’s better than other attack roll based cantrips! There’s also numerous items in Treasure Trove, particularly alchemical with more oils, potions, talismans too. Snares has quite a few pages, more into the crafting of alchemist and investigator I think. You’ll find some worn and held magic items as well. Nothing has jumped out at me as new and amazing, but that might be because there’s so much presented. I do always check Staves and Staff of the Tempest is new. It’s very primal, weather, storms so perfect for some kinds of oracles, sorcerers, clerics, or druids!

There’s really a lot of what you already love here, updated under the ORC. Definitely take time and invest in Player Core 2! I’ll also encourage you to check out some other great coverage of Player Core 2 like from Nonat or BadLuckGamer. I’ll also encourage you to find B. Dave Walters, Christian Navarro, Jesse Jerdak and more playing the Marvel Multiverse Role-playing Game. Also Jasmine Bhullar, Johnny Stanton, Jay Foster, and more for SINK (see below)! That is to say check them out because I wish I could! Have a great Gen Con or enjoy all the joy of Player Core 2!

Missed our show at SDCC?
Lucky for you we’re running it back with an amazing new cast this Friday at @Gen_Con!
9pm EST in ICC 500 on the Main Stage.
Tickets can be purchased at https://t.co/SDKhCmOji9 and stream will be available at https://t.co/zH1011GXTS pic.twitter.com/JddHKqnHny

— Johnny Stanton is SINK!ing about GenCon (@johnnystantoniv) July 29, 2024

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Player Core 2 cover, Paizo, art by Wayne Reynolds

1. Introduction banner, Player Core 2, Paizo
2. Arcane Dragonblood, Player Core 2, Paizo
3. Analyst Investigator, Player Core 2, Paizo
4. Shensen from Celebrity, Player Core 2, Paizo
5. Consult the Spirits feat banner, Player Core 2, Paizo

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

[00:00:00] Esther: Hello, and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther!

[00:00:28] Navaar: And I’m Navaar.

[00:00:29] Esther: And listeners, we are back! And we are so thankful for your patience with our absence. Scheduling is fun, and life is fun!

[00:00:39] Navaar: It’s like we never left.

[00:00:40] Esther: It’s like we never left! And today, we are going to be talking about Howl of the Wild. My review of this product is: great book, you should definitely buy it. The end.

[00:00:52] Navaar: Yep. The end. Yeah. In my home game, one of the players sent a meme of like the Florida alligator man, it was half man, half alligator. And she was like, “Yeah, if my character dies, this is who I’m going to be.” And I was like, “Well, funny you should say that. You can be a sentient alligator.” So yeah. If that doesn’t sell you on this book, I don’t know what will. I mean, maybe that’s not your thing and that’s fair, but there’s other things in here to sell you on the book, primarily in ancestries. But the ancestries — the whole book is amazing. The ancestries was like, yeah, you got me!

[00:01:29] Esther: Yeah. Absolutely. Do we want to do our usual thing of, like, talking about kind of the setup of the book, and then we’ll get into some of the ancestry stuff, and then go from there?

[00:01:40] Navaar: Yes. Love it.

[00:01:43] Esther: Cool.

Introduction to Howl of the Wild

[00:01:43] Navaar: Yeah. So essentially this book set up is like set up as this like scholar who’s going out into the world to do research on these things called Wardens, which are like these gigantic protectors of different they’re basically like these protectors of different aspects of the world.

And so I believe it’s Baranthet is the, is the gentleman’s name, a lizardfolk. And so he’s like, all right, I’m going to set out on this trip. And it’s like, it’s very, like set in story. It’s a, it’s a fun way to introduce all this stuff. And so he sets out to do this journey. He makes these schematics for this airship, and then he hires a crew. And the crew that we meet are all these really fun characters who also happen to represent the different ancestries that are introduced in this book. 

And I think of like NPCs that Pathfinder has made, Anchor Root is my favorite. Like many people, we all love Anchor Root.

Anchor Root is special, she’s precious. But Charikleia, the minotaur is also precious. We will do anything for her, we will save her life. She will live forever. So yeah, that’s my introduction to this book.

[00:03:10] Esther: I think the only thing I would add to that is the ship’s name is the Zoetrope and it like features a lot in the book. This book reminds me a lot of Treasure Vault in the way that the NPC voices, or Baranthet’s voice in particular, is incorporated. And it’s just like such a strong character voice woven throughout this book that you really do feel like you’re reading his field notes, which is just so cool. Shout out to the writing team for that, y’all knocked it out of the park! 

Yeah, so there are one, two, three, four, five, six new ancestries, and they are Athamaru, the fish people; Awakened Animal; Centaur; Merfolk; Minotaur; and Surki, which are like insect people who kinda remind me of cicadas with some of their lore.

And I have notes on three of these ancestries in particular, but is there like any one that you’re like, I really wanna talk about that one?

[00:04:08] Navaar: Um, I’m– I think that they’re all awesome. The centaurs are amazing, I feel like that’s your favorite one.

[00:04:16] Esther: That’s, that’s one of the ones I have notes on.

[00:04:18] Navaar: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the Surki… incredible. And the Minotaur, I think just like the Minotaur is such a fun thing, and I think like, the fact that they’ve still incorporated like mazes into their culture in a small way is really fun.

But yeah, I think the fun thing too — so the Athamaru and the mermaids, the Merfolk, are both ocean species. Like, you can run a campaign underwater, and then you have an Awakened Animal where it’s like, “Cool, I’m gonna be a dolphin, an Awakened dolphin. Or an Awakened orca.” Terrifying. But, it’s really fun. Like it really opens up a lot of ways to play. I think like, similarly to Treasure Vault, this book inspired me to be like, I have new ideas now of campaigns to run, or you know, of oneshots to run, etc, etc.

The other really cool aspect that they added is that you can now be a Large creature. So the Minotaur and the Centaur are Large, but you can also be a Large Awakened animal. And so that is such a fun thing. That’s when it’s like, “Okay, well, I could be, you know, a smaller orca. I could be a great white shark. And then we could have our underwater campaign.” And… yeah.

Yeah. Plus, plus, plus, plus. So I don’t know. I mean, I could talk about all of them, but like, which one particularly was stuck out to you? Or which one do you want to talk about first of those three that you have listed?

Awakened Animals 

[00:05:46] Esther: So the three I have listed are Awakened Animal, Centaur, and Merfolk. Just like quickly going off of what you said, I think this opens up underwater campaigns in like a whole new way for Pathfinder, which I am so into. I think that the design is brilliant. I have long wanted to play in a water-based campaign, but I felt like it would be too hard and there would just be so much that I would have to like, think about and do. And this totally opens up new horizons. Love it. 

Maybe we start with Awakened Animal, because I actually have some experience GMing for an Awakened Animal. Listeners, if you haven’t listened to Chromythica, one of my players plays an Awakened Husky. And Justin came to me with this idea, like, three and a half years ago now, and was like, “Hey, if we’re gonna do a campaign that we maybe record, how would you feel if I played an Awakened Animal? There’s not really a total path for it, but like, we could come up with something.” And I was like, “Yes, absolutely.” And so we did. We like, kind of used the Shoony ancestry to adapt some things for him. But he really encountered this kind of interesting challenge in that there’s not a culture that one automatically adopts as an Awakened Animal. And it’s thinking, like, what is it like to be a being in the world that has all of these skills and abilities but is coming to consciousness for the first time?

Like, how do you age? How do you mentally age? Like, are you a toddler two years after you’ve Awakened, or are you an adult? Like, such interesting challenges. And one of the things that I was so pleased about when I sent Justin the Awakened Animal chapter of this book, is he was instantly like, “This is so perfect. This is exactly what I would have wanted out of an Awakened Animal. Can I change my build to incorporate these feats?” And I was like, “Of course, of course.” So that being said, some of the stuff they talk about in here is that there are different experiences of being Awakened. There are few enough Awakened animals that there are no prevailing cultures.

I thought that was so interesting, the resonance there with like, what Justin wound up going with. And they tend to see the world in terms of natural order, which is also something that we have kind of gravitated to in Ember’s build and design as a character. And I thought that was really cool that it wound up in the same place. 

Like you said, they can be anywhere from Tiny to Large, which I think is so cool. They all have pretty much like some kind of animal based attack, and they can remember animal instincts and be affected by spells and other effects as if they were animals, and also communicate with at least animals of their type. So like Ember, for instance, could communicate with other dogs, use Diplomacy to Make An Impression, that kind of stuff. I think that’s super cool. 

They have heritages for climbing animals, swimming animals, running animals, flying animals, a lot of different heritages in there that give you cool abilities like swimming speeds, burrow speeds, land speeds, all of that stuff. And you can often build those out with the feat tree they provide, which I thought was really lovely, especially for flying animals, which you kind of have to take feats in order to unlock your full range of abilities.

The animal attacks are antler, beak, claw, fangs, fist, horn, jaws, tail, tail and tongue and wing, all 1d6 or 1d4. And, I can talk about feats, but I’ve talked a lot. So yeah, that’s like, that’s Awakened Animal stuff.

[00:09:22] Navaar: Yeah, I love the idea. This was like… well, one, Dimension 20 recently did a series where the cast was all stoats. And they were, quote, “Awakened,” right? Quote unquote, “Awakened,” in a way. Like, but this clearly is like, would be such a better way to do that. No shade at all to the cast, just the mechanics of these.

But I do think also too, in that same way, I was like: like how cool would it be to… you’re playing in Absalom, for instance, and you’re, like, Awakened mice. And it’s like, the world of Absalom is still working around you, but you’re just these Tiny mice that, like, now have sentience, now have, like, little swords. And you’re like aware that you’re naked and you’re like — all of the things are like, okay. Like and then people just like, passerbys being like, “Was that mouse wearing a waistcoat? Like wearing a needle on its side?” But yeah, like just like the how fun it would be to like, you know, what is that world like now? What is like, what are the things that are like, monsters to you? You know what I mean? What’s it like to face something that like appears to be a giant, and it’s just like a normal Medium-sized human?

You know what I mean? Like I think it would just be like such a fun, such a fun way to play that, where you’re interacting with a different aspect of the same world. And it doesn’t even have to be like epic scale fantasy stuff. Like you could still — I mean, cats are dangerous to you. You know what I mean?

So yeah. I think that would be really fun. But then of course, like just being a Large animal is great. Just a big bear or Awakened tiger. I think that… I mean, we always talk about the art. Of course, the art is incredible as always. The art for the Awakened Animals is really cool. They did some really amazing designs with different ways of like, seeing them.

There’s one that has a picture of a, uh, a deer. What’s, uh [pensive sounds] a buck, if you will. But he has, like, human hands, right? Um, and is doing some Druid stuff. And I think, like, that’s such a cool — it’s a cool image, first of all. But then it’s very, like, if you’re a Druid and you’re, you know, looking, thinking about, like, who your, who your deity might be, there’s a lot of like, really cool imagery that you can play with.

So, yeah, I think it’s just a really fun way to play this. To be like, yeah, “I’m an Awakened tiger that’s now bipedal and I met, and I’m meeting catfolk who are like, ‘Are you one of us?’ And it’s like, no. No, we are different. And I can’t explain how, but I know we’re different.” Yeah.

[00:12:01] Esther: I love that, I love that. It takes me back to one thing I forgot to say, is that the Awakening canonically alters your form somehow as an Awakened animal. So like, you, they often do become bipedal or something similar and like, the buck gets hands clearly. That’s so interesting. It’s another place of resonance with what we wound up doing with Ember, who’s not bipedal and doesn’t wear clothes. But his body did change as a result of his Awakening. And it was kind of as a result of being a multiclass Barbarian and Oracle, but he’s very hot to the touch. And so I loved like, that we kind of both wound up going this parallel route of the body changes in a really tangible way as a result of this, this process, this moment. Yeah, I just think it’s, it’s so cool to think about what, what an Awakened Animal’s experience of the world would be. I love your Absalom, envisioning these mice and like, what must their lived experience be 

[00:12:55] Navaar: like?

Yeah. Or like if a batch of them just like living under a, you know, wizard’s tower or whatever, like the spell seeps through the floor. And then you just have like this batch of like rodents that now become Awakened. And like, what do you do with that life? It would be fun. I would enjoy that.

But yes. Awakened Animals would be… it’s a really fun ancestry, uh, with a lot of options to allow you to do some great customization. other thing that because nerds slash affectionate are so– can  be so into like, “the way that the rules are written and it’s not in here, so whatever!” mental gymnastics, I love that they were just like, you can always find weapons and armor to fit the size of thing that you are. Like it’s available.

And I think that that’s such a great… without making it a big, like, you gotta go to this special shop and blah blah blah blah blah, it’s just like, you find it. Let’s not complicate it. We’re playing a fantasy game. The fiction is already stretched. It’s stretched so far. Let’s just have fun now.

So I really love that concept. And I’m glad that they, I’m glad that they wrote it in.

[00:14:04] Esther: Me too. It’s, it’s one thing that I really highly recommend as a GM. Justin is a little bit different than me in that sometimes he can go the route of like, “Well here’s what’s written. It’s gonna be like kind of a big deal to go outside of this, are you okay with that?” And I, of course, am like “Yeah, let’s do something totally different!”

So I compromised for us, and part of the rationale behind setting Chromythica in the beginning in a city of gnomes is that there’s such creativity and invention there. I was like, Ember will be able to find what he needs here. And if he can’t find the thing, he’ll find somebody who will make it for him.

And I think that’s really important to provide a character like this. And I just gotta say, as someone who’s been GMing for an Awakened Animal for like, two and a half years now: it’s so much fun. Please let you players do this. It’s so much fun.

[00:14:53] Navaar: Yeah. Truly. Yeah. It seems like it would be a great time. That was the one, like in terms of like where I can go with next campaign-wise, Awakened Animals was the one that inspired me the most. And then I think underwater was the next one after that. And centaurs are just like this, I mean, I’ve wanted to be a centaur since I learned what a centaur was.

[00:15:15] Esther: They’re so cool.

[00:15:16] Navaar: Yeah. I can’t remember the name of the author that I read as a child that had centaurs in his book. He might be a problematic author, so it’s probably better I don’t remember his name. But I do remember there were centaurs and there were fauns in the book, and nymphs.

[00:15:33] Esther: C. S. Lewis?

[00:15:34] Navaar: No…

[00:15:35] Esther: ‘Cause he’s also a little bit problematic, but he has all of those.

[00:15:39] Navaar: Yeah.

But when they came out with the movies, that was really cool. That was like, yeah. It’s such, I mean, who doesn’t want to be half horse?

Centaurs

[00:15:48] Esther: Right? I mean I have been… since I’ve been looking forward to the centaur since it was announced, maybe we should talk about the centaur.

[00:15:56] Navaar: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

[00:15:58] Esther: Yeah. I can do just like a brief intro and then we can get into like, what impressed us about them. They are kind of written as guardians of nature where balance is really important to them maybe because some of their ancestors kind of threw nature out of balance, and so now it’s like, culturally a value to really tend things carefully and make sure that nature is preserved and loved and cared for.

They are nomadic. I wrote “happiest when mobile, like physical contests and sports. Most are an average size of 7 feet tall and 2, 000 pounds.” And I wrote “Yes. Hot.”

[00:16:34] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:16:35] Esther: Their coat markings used to be used to divine futures, which is less popular now with the death of prophecy, but sometimes if somebody is born with a rare marking that can be considered a good omen or a bad omen.

You’re Large, you have a land speed of 30 feet, 8 hit points, darkvision, and as a centaur you can be a mount to a PC one size smaller than you, uh, which is different because usually it has to be two sizes, I think. But it’s written that they don’t like being ridden except by like close friends or in really dire circumstances.

Yeah, that’s like a little intro. What else about centaurs stands out? 

[00:17:14] Navaar: I’m just gonna say again, because I think like one of the things I enjoy about our show is just talking about inspirations — hopefully somebody takes these and runs with them, because lord knows you and I don’t have the time to do it! Somebody that we know please run Pathfinder for us! — but I thought this was like…

Okay, because, uh, if you know me, you know, that I love a great just two player campaign.

Keep it simple, keep the scheduling easy, have a great dynamic, spotlighting is easy. But having two players who one is a centaur and one is a Medium-sized creature that their dynamic is they work in tandem. They’re — one rides the centaur. And then the eventual conflict that arises of just being in a party with somebody?

I love it. Like, narratively, I’m like, yeah. Give me that. 

[00:18:09] Esther: That’s so good.

[00:18:11] Navaar: I just want… I just want a tense, fictional conflicts. That’s what I live for. So, anyway. Yeah. That’s… centaur’s awesome. But I do just love, the, sort of, like, the way it’s built around this nomadic groups, very tight bonds with each other.

Um, you can have, oh, mottle, mottle-coat centaurs. So there’s — one of the types is that you have like a specific type of coat that helps you camouflage, which I think is so fun. And then as I was thinking, as I like initially like, “Okay, centaurs. Cool. But are there little…? ‘Cause there are Shetland ponies, like what’s…?” And you can be a Small centaur! And that’s just a lot of fun, character-wise. I don’t, I’m not a big person, like I’m not a big fan of like, playing small characters. It’s like one of those like mental blocks that I just haven’t gone around, but I might play a ponygait centaur, because just seems, seems like it would be a good time.

So, yeah, the wording for it is: “you’re smaller than most other centaurs, though no less fleet of foot. Instead of Large, your size is Medium. And you gain a plus one circumstance bonus to Reflex saving throws.” But I just love like, the interpersonal conflict of like people telling you you’re cute all the time or thinking you’re too short and like having like, Napoleon complex or like, you know, you think you’re a short king or whatever.

Like, I think it’s just like a lot of fun to be like, you’re fully, you know, five and a half feet, six foot tall. But… but you’re smaller than the other centaurs and it stands out when you’re around them, so.

[00:19:45] Esther: I love that so much. I love that so much. Yeah, I’m trying to think if there’s — like, there’s some really fun heritages. There’s one that gives you, like, a five foot increase of your land speed. In addition to the ones you’re talking about. There’s, like, their spiritual lives are kind of centered around greenspeakers and faithspeakers. Greenspeakers being, like, nature oriented, faithspeakers being divinity oriented. And there’s a heritage that kind of gets into that and gives you, like, different Primal cantrip options to cast innately. 

The thing I really loved was reading some of the feats. And there’s, like a feat 5 is Accommodating Mount, which if you’re going this build of like, you’re gonna be a mount for another party member in battle, you — if they are riding you, they get to take full 3 actions on their turn, as opposed to the 2 they would usually be able to take.

You can only take 2, but I just thought that was like, really cool. And like, what a great incentive to, to use that ability. Yeah.

[00:20:42] Navaar: But yeah, even, yeah, even that of like being less effective, right? Than the other person, and what does that look like? I just think it’s so much fun. We should have this. The other one I really enjoyed was — especially cause it’s like a feat 9 and it seems, it seems high for this, but I do enjoy it — it’s Fierce Competitor. And essentially, basically like you can call out to a friend and be like, “I’m gonna knock that guy down before you do,” or “I’m gonna climb this wall,” whatever, like, whatever it is, like, you set the goal, and the two of you compete to do it first. And I just think that that like, from a combat level, like, imagine being the person that’s like, “Did they just make a competition out of beating me up?”

Yeah, they did! And when they’re done, they get bonuses for it. And actually, in the midst of it, they’re getting bonuses to do it now because they’re calling each other out to see who can do it, with complete disregard for you, the enemy. So I think it’s a really fun, it is a, it is a feat nine, but it is, it is a lot of fun. It stood out to me as, as an option. 

But I just like, I think like just having sort of this culture around Athletics, I think, is a lot of fun. And like, if you’re going to like, take it to this level, combat, it seems like a good place to do it. So.

Merfolk

[00:21:56] Esther: Totally. Totally. Should we move on to merfolk?

To touch the underwater stuff? 

[00:22:02] Navaar: Yeah, yes. 

Yeah. So merfolk essentially… I mean, you know, people slash fish. The merfolk differ largely from the, I’m gonna keep forgetting how to say that name correctly. The Athamaru! In that the merfolk are like very much more like, uh, magic oriented, innately. It seems like they’re more like based around like their civilization, architecture, a lot more stuff that’s closer to humans.

I think this is one of the areas — because I think both of these fit and they both seem like they’d be a lot of fun to play, but I do feel like this is a spot in Howl of the Wild where it seems like there was like very much a — I don’t know if this — and I don’t know. This is me speculating. It does seem like this was like a carryover from First Edition lore in that there is still a level of class divide. Because it even says like the Athamaru — or like, I believe that it says like they were oppressed by other sea folk. And I think that there’s like, this is like one of those areas that I was like, it’s just touched on a little bit, but it does feel… a little bit out of place. And I can’t explain it better than that.

But I just think it was one of those things that I was like, “Hmm, this is an interesting thing.” Again, both of them seem really cool. Like the Athamaru like have a lot of cool stuff that they can do. Like, you can basically like gain this carapace over your body. There’s a whole bunch of stuff! 

But it was an interesting thing of like… well, and then of course, and here’s these like pretty merfolk people, with their siren songs and, and their beautiful coral reef architecture. So.

[00:23:47] Esther: I feel you. That’s, that’s such an interesting point and I feel like I’m gonna have like an intersecting slash parallel one when we get to werecreatures. Yeah, I… I feel like there’s a very like, there’s a desirability construction in the merfolk, in the art, in the way that they are portrayed as very like… I’m gonna say, uh, stereotypically hot in a lot of ways.

Even the– except the deep water one.

[00:24:15] Navaar: The abyssal one, that’s a little…

[00:24:16] Esther: You know —

[00:24:17] Navaar: Depending on who you are…!

[00:24:18] Esther: To some people! Depending on who you are, yeah. But the, the Athamaru, it, it felt… you’re right, like there’s a bit of a class divide that just something in there feels a little bit funky. But I’m having trouble articulating what it is exactly. But yeah.

But, that being said, there’s great stuff in both of them. They’re super cool. I would, I would be happy to play a character of either ancestry. And yeah, I feel like merfolk stats are somewhat similar to humans. Like you’re Medium sized, you get a swim speed of 25 feet, you get, 8 hit points. They’re very diverse societie. There is a merfolk society in a salt lake in the River Kingdoms, which I found really cool. And what else did I write?

Oh, you have darkvision, I think? The abyssal merfolk have darkvision, that’s it. And so you can be abyssal. You can be essentially a shark person merfolk, where your cool heritage power is that you get imprecise scent to 30 feet, but if there’s blood spilled on land, you can smell that at a range of 120 feet and 500 feet in the water.

And I was like, “Oh, yes. Cool.”

[00:25:26] Navaar: Yeah, yeah, the art for that one is so good too. Just like this shark lower body. Yeah, it’s really good. I do love Apprentice Sea Witch as a feat. You’re familiar with basic spells that most educated merfolk know. Once per day you can cast either Create Water or Hydraulic Push at first rank. Each time you cast Create Water you can choose if you create fresh water or salt water.

This is a little dark, but I do wonder if you can cast Create Water in somebody’s mouth.

[00:25:55] Esther: Ooh. I would allow it! 

[00:25:55] Navaar: I mean, this seems like, yeah? And then make it seawater. So it’s like, even if you don’t drown, you’re gonna not feel great about this. But yeah, merfolk are really cool. 

It is interesting, to get in a situation where it’s like, where, you know, if you’re out of water for a certain amount of time, I think it’s 24 hours, like, you start to take penalties. Which I love a good penalty. 

There is this submarine chair. I have not figured out… I don’t know if I’ve skipped it or what, but I can’t, I don’t know if they explain more about this, but the art’s really cool.

[00:26:28] Esther: They do. I think it’s in, like, the items section.

[00:26:32] Navaar: Oh, that makes sense.

[00:26:33] Esther: I wrote a note about it somewhere, but now I can’t find it. A supramarine chair, and essentially, I think — like a wheelchair, if you need to use a wheelchair in the game — that you can just have it, and it’s a thing you can just, you can just have. And then you can probably, like, outfit it certain ways.

But yeah, it’s essentially like a chair where your, your fish buddy goes into the chair, and it is, like, has water.

[00:26:58] Navaar: So you can be out of water. Yeah, that’s amazing.

[00:27:01] Esther: It’s really cool.

[00:27:02] Navaar: Yeah. What was your favorite feat?

[00:27:05] Esther: So it was really hard to pick, because there were a bunch of cool ones. I’m just gonna say, y’all should check out the two 17th level merfolk feats. They’re both really cool, and if you’re at 17th level — I know it’s a lot to get there — but, check them out.

[00:27:20] Navaar: Do a one-shot. Yeah.

[00:27:21] Esther: But I think my favorite is the Healing Flesh 5th level feat, where you can take like one damage to spill a drop of your blood, and when you do that you don’t need to use healer’s tools to Administer First Aid, Treat A Disease, or Treat Wounds. And you gain a plus one item bonus to your Medicine check.

And… now this is a little grim, but you know I love a little grimness sometimes! If you die and someone eats your heart and liver within an hour of your death, they are healed of all physical wounds and will cease to age for eight years. And my seed of a campaign brain was like, “I want to play a character where their merfolk friend died and for some reason they had to eat their heart and liver and now they’ve ceased to age for eight years.”

[00:28:14] Navaar: Just start with that. Just that’s the opening scene of the campaign.

[00:28:18] Esther: Right? Somebody, uh, , if I don’t use that in an actual play, or a cam— please use that. 

[00:28:24] Navaar: Yeah, please do that.

[00:28:25] Esther: Begging for that.

[00:28:28] Navaar: Yeah, that’s so good. Um, yeah, really, really good. I do yeah. I mentioned earlier the Siren Song, which is basically what you think it would be. You can bewitch and beguile with your song. I do love that it’s not gendered, both as the singer and the target. I think that’s great.

And then Tears of Pearl is just fun too. It’s also a feat 9. You could just like, with two actions, start crying a bunch of pearls on the floor. And then like, if people fail their check, then they just become so like, “Ah, I gotta get this! Priceless rare pearls!” And then they are in a disadvantage, disadvantageous position.

So, yeah. It’s been a lot of fun. 

Uh, I do like — so this is just to kind of touch on the minotaur slightly, and the centaur, and then also jumping ahead to something down the road. But, I believe it’s a spell, one of the spells you can now get is to summon a stampede. And I really love like, visually, that you can summon like a whole stampede of cattle, essentially, to trample somebody. But as a centaur or a minotaur, you can also stampede and trample people as well. And so, like, I think, like, just the idea of, like, doubling that up in combat would be really fun, visually.

[00:29:44] Esther: Totally. That’d be awesome.

[00:29:47] Navaar: But yes, the other thing — just cause, I think the other ones are mostly pretty obvious. The Surki is really cool because they don’t have to eat or drink, they just absorb magic constantly through life as they’re existing. They remind me of, for anybody who’s seen Young Justice, I can’t remember the character’s name, but there’s like a little bug guy, uh, in like season 3, 2 and 3 I wanna say. Or 3 and 4. Um, very much like him.

That’s what I think of. But yeah, so in that they’ve added a bunch of other things, special archetypes and special equipment and special things just to add to both your character’s ancestry and also some of your, some of the specific classes as well.

Archetypes 

[00:30:33] Esther: Totally. I wrote down some of these and like if there’s any that you want to talk about in particular — I wrote, like, most for the Swarmkeeper and the Werecreatures. But essentially they start with, like, Barbarian and Druid Untamed Morphs. They give new Warden spells and Ranger options.

They give new Witch Patron options and like, Zoophonic Bard builds, which is really cool. And then the new archetypes are the Beastmaster, which I think is an updated one. The Clawdancer, which is like about using your claws and physical movement to fight more effectively. Um, the Ostilli Host, which are, they’re little amorphous organisms that share symbiotic relationships with surkis and give magical boosts to abilities.

And I wrote here, “If you are a Star Trek fan, this reminds me of the Trill and their symbionts!” And I wrote “Trill! Dax!” exclamation points, so shout to all you Trek fans out there. Yeah, anything in there thus far that you wanted to like, shout out?

[00:31:31] Navaar: Yeah, I just wanted… I mean, Ranger is my favorite class, even when it’s done badly. It’s not done badly here, but just to point that out, I just, it’s hard to beat, uh, in my brain. But one of the fun things, one of the advanced Warden Spells is Canopy Crawler, where for 10 minutes you grow a prehensile tail that you can use to have access to one of your hands while you’re climbing.

But if you have the Combat Climber feat, then you get both your hands free. And that’s just fun.

That was a really fun one. The Witch’s one is just so good because I love — I, one of the things I really love about Pathfinder is like, the Witches don’t have to necessarily be scary, but when the Witches are scary, that’s really good. Like when your hair moves and is grabbing stuff, that’s terrifying.

When your nails are like super long and wild, terrifying. Uh, when you are a devourer of decay, yeah, that’s terrifying. But it’s really good also. So I take it. I accept it. And I do love this beautiful little gnoll Witch that they have as the artwork. So good.

[00:32:44] Esther: I was, I was trying desperately to remember the name gnoll when I was looking at that art because I was like, they’re so beautiful, I love this so much. And yeah, the art’s on page 61, for those who want to know.

[00:32:57] Navaar: Yeah. And then I think the other one… the Clawdancer is really good. We were talking, I think we were talking before we started recording. There’s a lot of really cool options for Monks and, you know, if you’re building a Fighter class that’s unarmed, Clawdancer is one of them. If you’re playing a catfolk or an Awakened cat, or other animal that has claws — but it is like a catfolk- flavored thing specifically. But it’s just really cool to just be like, here’s this, you know, fighting style with all these special feats to help you lean into it heavily. I really just enjoy that and the Swarm keeper’s — 

[00:33:39] Esther: So cool. 

[00:33:39] Navaar: And terrifying also, but very cool. 

[00:33:41] Esther: You can, your body can host a swarm of insects and you can emit it and have them do things. And oh, a note I made about this one is you can’t have an animal companion if you have a swarm. But if you have another dedication or something that lets you have two animal companions, your swarm can count as one, which is interesting. Yeah. Anyway, go ahead!

[00:34:03] Navaar: Good stuff. Yeah, the other one that was sort of Monk slash Fighter coded was the Thlippit Contestant. Uh, which basically is for… why can’t I remember the name? Uh, the frog people. And you, it’s like a, basically like using your tongue like a whip. Um. 

[00:34:20] Esther: The tripkees? 

[00:34:21] Navaar: Yeah, yes. So if you’re a Star Wars Acolyte fan, maybe for some reason that I will not explain for spoiler reasons, this might appeal to you. We’re gonna move on.

[00:34:37] Esther: Real quick, real quick. So we were talking about the Monk thing beforehand, and I thought you were saying you weren’t expecting the Monk stuff. And I was like, yeah, I didn’t see that coming! But were you expecting it? ‘Cause I, I was like seeing the Ranger stuff coming and like the Barbarian stuff.

I was like, there’s gotta be that in this book! But I was really taken by surprise by how much Monk flavored stuff there is. And I loved it. So I was just curious, like, is that something you expected for this?

[00:35:04] Navaar: No, definitely a pleasant surprise. I do think I think, like, if we were, I guess being more, like, critical about, like, analyzing, like, what books are coming out, et cetera, et cetera, then it maybe wouldn’t have been a big surprise, just following Tian Xia. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m glad that I was surprised about it.

I think it’s just fun. I think, like, having options for classes — especially classes that historically over fantasy TTRPGs as a genre, have been sort of ignored or, or done badly — I think like having those extra options there to build out, I think it’s a lot of fun. And so I think like, taking the time to add those specific things in here, I think is great.

To not have certain character classes feel as left out. Though, I mean, obviously there are some… none of these are specifically Cleric or Wizard. I’m trying to think of, like, what’s, what’s canon in our first Player’s Core rulebook. But, yeah. So, I was pleasantly surprised.

I was not expecting it. I enjoy it because I love martial arts stuff. But, yeah. Let’s get into these werecreatures.

Werecreatures

[00:36:10] Esther: Yeah, let’s get into these werecreatures. Yeah, what are your overall thoughts? Because I have many thoughts.

[00:36:16] Navaar: So, I like that you can take on the dedication, and I like that you can use your werecreature form whenever you want. And I do like that during a full moon you don’t get to control it, it just, you change. But you get to control your character; you just can’t change back. To me, it seems like it’d be fun in a way of that’s like, not penalizing for characters that allows for like, the space for you to decide on how you want to interact with that. I immediately — because I have, my character Kidogo, who is in my Strength of Thousands campaign, is a gnoll Sorcerer, divine Sorcerer.

I was like, what if I became a hyena werecreature, and then I could just turn into a Large hyena. And I have a hyena, little tiny Small hyena familiar. She’s the best. And so, yeah, anyway, very hyena themed. But I was like, this would be fun! Like to me, I would enjoy that. Because we’ve, you know, in that campaign, you chase around a lot of — at least in the first book, you chase around a lot of small stuff.

Uh, we had a player who was a kitsune, and we basically stuffed him down a hole to chase around these little demon creatures through a burrow. So, but yeah. So like, I think to me, I’m like, that’s, that seems really cool. What, what are your thoughts?

[00:37:45] Esther: I largely… 

So my first thought: I am– I have the book open and, to page 76, and there’s this like werewolf I assume in armor with a beautiful flowing cloak and like a sword and it’s just great. Check out the art, as always. 

I largely agree with like all of that. I really enjoyed the way a lot of the archetype was written. I liked their note about roleplaying a werecreature. I really liked that in this part of the, the werecreature entries in this book, there’s a bit of an update from this, like, “you are evil by default, you have no control.” That to me, is an aspect of the way they have been written in many places, including I would say 1e, that I did not enjoy.

When I think about werecreatures, I think so strongly about real-world parallels with people who have infectious diseases or disabilities, and the way people have been constructed as monstrous, especially if they have the ability to transmit that disease, by accident or on purpose. And there’s strong parallels there, and I think they are not always written well or with care.

And I felt like they were here. That being said, there is a feat, and there is some of that language that I felt that crept back into the werecreature entries later in the book. I was like, I’m not totally feeling this. Not that I’m like, I wouldn’t do this! I think, again, I think this is really cool, I’m glad it exists.

But just like… so the feat is on page 79, and it’s called Touch of Lunacy. And that’s a really loaded word for a lot of disabled people, for a lot of people who struggle with mental illness. And I was a little bit surprised by that choice. No shade to the author, I have no idea who the author was! Like, just, just in terms of like, maybe an editing note I would offer is, I think the feat could easily be called, like, Loss of Control.

Basically it is, it reads: “In moments of viciousness your curse can partially infect your prey. When you critically succeed an Unarmed attack from the werecreature archetype, the target must attempt a Fortitude save against the higher of your class or spell DCs or become Clumsy 2 until the beginning of your next turn. On a critical failure, it’s Clumsy 1 for one minute as their [like] transformation lingers.” And… yeah. To me, that could have been worded just, like, rather differently and still gotten the across. So I found it interesting. Like, for me, there was just enough of the carryover of… especially in the like, the werecreature entries, you lose control and you might like, maim people. Or like, go on these rampages. And I’m just like… that’s not bad. And there can be like, satisfying ways to play that. And it invokes stuff for me that I’m like, I’m just riding this line of discomfort. Yeah. I don’t know, did you notice that? What are your thoughts?

[00:40:43] Navaar: I didn’t, I think just as I was trying to like, you know, skimming through some of this stuff, I didn’t notice it. but yeah, seeing it now, I definitely see… it’s like one of those things, trying to find the right words. I agree. I don’t think that was probably the best choice. But I think, who knows how long of a conversation that was, or, or whether it was a conversation or whatever it was. Like I, again, I don’t want to speculate on what they, they did here. But, but yeah. I think there’s sometimes… it’s like, even if it’s like riding that line, maybe we just pick a different word and go from there.

So… but I think, like, in terms of just, like disability discussions and specific wording, I think that there are things that are super obvious, but there are other things that are not. And I think it’s, like, depending on how I use it… I think recently a fairly, I want to say, if I remember correctly, it was a fairly prominent, like, TTRPG writer, made a big statement about the use of the word cripple. And for me, I was like, I don’t know where this lies. Like, I don’t know, like, I probably — like, it’s not something I would just put into a book, but I also don’t know, like, if it’s, what side of the fence we’re on with this specific word.

And I think that, like, there are these situations where, in that moment, I would just, I would find a different way to phrase this. So, yeah.

[00:42:07] Esther: Yeah, I think particularly if it’s a book that I’m like, I know this is by a disabled author and it’s talking about like experiences of disability or like writing this with a lens of disability, then maybe those words that are more like historically ouch words, I’m like, you’ve reclaimed this. You’re having a specific like, definition or interpretation of this.

But if it’s in a book that doesn’t have that explicit lens, where the person — I’m like, I don’t know, anybody could have written this! It hits a little different, you know? 

Yeah, I think, I think you’re right. It’s one of those moments of like, “Hmm, I might have chosen a different word.” Just, just a personal note.

Because I think there’s, there’s a lot that can go with werecreatures. All that being said, love that they exist. Love that you can choose an archetype. I want to do it someday, so I’m excited about it.

[00:42:58] Navaar: I literally, I might just take it as a feat and just consequences be damned. ‘Cause it was, this is one of those things where I was like, well, I mean, we’re like, I think we’re 4th level now, 5th level. So we can like, I can probably slide this in without losing too much stuff.

Yes, I already have to multiclass as a wizard, I don’t have a choice there. But you know, let’s, let’s put some feats around. 

The Wild Mimic

[00:43:21] Navaar: The wild mimic, which is the next archetype is, is absolutely wild. It made me think of a– well, the picture I should say, specifically makes me think of like when they have like feral like human characters as like the bad in a show or a movie. There’s a really, really good episode of The Walking Dead lot oaf people probably haven’t seen because people stopped watching it before then. But there’s a, a character in the show in one of the, in like Season 10, I think. And she’s deaf and she gets stuck in this house, um, with this stranger that she doesn’t know, that they’re like trying to survive together. And there are these feral people who live inside the walls, and they move the way that this picture is drawn. And I’m like, yeah, that’s… it’s too scary. Um, yeah, it’s so good. They like, whenever it’s in her perspective, they take the sound out of the — it’s, yeah. It’s a really good episode. If you don’t watch any other Walking Dead, just go find that one specifically. You don’t even need context. I mean, you might, but you’ll be fine. 

All that to say, this, this idea of like, you are just a humanoid — uh, you don’t have to be a human — but you’re a humanoid that like, through observation, through training, through practice, have like started to take on these qualities of a wild creature.

I think it’s a really fun, sort of reverse of the Awakened Animal. I think it’s a great addition to have of like, here’s these Awakened Animals and all this great stuff to do about it, but also like, what if you wanted to do the other way around? What if you wanted to be like the raised by wolves kid, you know what I mean? Like, like literally raised by wolves. And then you just go back, backwards, and then your wolves are Awakened Animals. ‘Cause, I don’t know.

[00:45:11] Esther: That would — okay, a feral child raised by two Awakened wolves? We’re giving you so many ideas for campaigns today. Yes!

[00:45:22] Navaar: Honestly though, my subconscious mind just stole that from Kipo. Which is great. I mean, if you’re gonna steal something from an animated show, western animation, then Kipo’s a good choice. But yes, anyway, too many — again, somebody who knows us, please, run Pathfinder for us. Esther and I can do things together.

[00:45:43] Esther: We’re just gonna be so, um, wild and free and excited. Yes.

[00:45:48] Navaar: I don’t even care, if these are all oneshots! I’ll still be happy, just to like, play a bunch of different character classes and ancestries.

[00:45:54] Esther: Let me play my Awakened possum. 

[00:45:55] Navaar: Yeah!

[00:45:56] Esther: I really wanna do that.

[00:45:56] Navaar: Yeah, your you’re Awakened pretending to be asleep possum.

Winged Warrior

[00:46:02] Esther: Yeah, exactly. The last archetype, I think, is Winged Warrior. Which is basically just on, that, it has like a fighting style that benefits those with wings. Uh, not just Awakened animals, but maybe also like tengu and other creatures like that. My big note for this one, which I’m so sorry to everybody who’s interested in more technical stuff, on page 82, there’s art of a character in the Winged Warrior, and I wrote, “Is this a chicken?”

‘Cause it looks to me like a chicken wearing a little dress and trousers, and I’m so enchanted by it. I don’t know what kind of bird it is, but I was so delighted by the idea of this like Awakened chicken doing it is a little martial arts. Yeah.

[00:46:46] Navaar: It is a little chickeny. I do like… I mean, I think that’s fun. Yeah. I think the, so here’s the thing: like, I think just in terms of like Pathfinder stuff, I know we’re getting, getting close on time, but it’s so funny to me that like, having a Swim speed when you’re playing a swimming creature is an obvious thing, and you can just swim, and you can breathe underwater, and it’s fine.

But if you’re an Awakened bird, or if you’re a Strix, or, you know, like — you don’t get to fly for so, like, for so long. You basically can, like, hover. You operate similarly to what actual chickens do, in that they can kind of fly for a while, and then they have to come back down. And I think I just often, as like a person who got into TTRPGs heavily especially like over the past five years or so, it does feel like this became like a GM taboo of just like hating the idea of letting characters fly, at an early level, because I guess it’s broken.

Just change the way the game plays. But yeah, so I don’t know. I think it’s just one of those things that’s just kind of silly to me. But… just let us fly.

[00:47:56] Esther: Just let us fly. Let us fly.

[00:47:59] Navaar: Just let us fly. Um, but yeah! You can swim and breathe underwater all you want. Uh, if you’re the right kind of creature for it. So, yeah. Next is a bunch of new spells, which are a lot of fun. I did talk about the Summon Stampede spell, which is spell 7.

You can also summon Wardens of the Wild. So I haven’t really talked to a ton about these, but you can… basically, these like mythical enormous creatures you can bring in to just do like wild Pokemon damage. They come in as Gargantuan. Like if you’ve played, I can’t remember which one it is. Sword and Shield, Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Yeah. When you, yeah, when you like use the thing, the Dynamax thing, and then they become like that space — that. You’re, you’re doing that. That’s your thing. People, don’t get excited. That’s the first Pokemon game I played in 20 some years, and I got a bunch of level 50 characters, and I have not played it since, so.

[00:48:57] Esther: You wanna, you wanna know something? I guess, not counting Pokemon Go, that’s the first Pokemon game I played ever.

[00:49:04] Navaar: Yeah, same. Well, yeah, Pokemon Go, I don’t know if that counts,.But yeah, yes, I agree. Yes, yeah, that’s, that is wild. I did play them, Red and Blue, literally back in like, the GameBoy Color days. And that was the last time up until very recently. Anyway, visually, if for all you Pokemon fans out there, you want to if you want to Dynamax with that creature, you have no business summoning, just get those 8th level spells and you’ll be fine. You got this. Yeah. Any other special things you want to cover before we hop out? There’s — I mean, yeah. We gotta — there’s still more to this book. Trust me.

[00:49:44] Esther: Yes, I’m just gonna, I’m gonna list some things y’all should check out, and like have two things maybe to talk about. Great new animal companions, including things like gryphons, orcas, rocs, riding tarantula, umbrella mushroom, amazing. Uh, yeah, Hippogryphs, they’re so cool. A shotlashu, which is an animal native to Castrovel.

Great stuff. There are big game siege weapons that are like, targeted towards like, disrupting large animals and stuff. There are some amazing creatures in the Menagerie, like the Apothecary Bee, which made a splash, but also things like manticores and hydras. 

Grafts

[00:50:24] Esther: The thing I wanted to talk about before we really hit Wardens of the Wild is the grafts, which are a new thing. Which is basically living tissues implanted on a host body, and you can take a feat at 3rd level to be a Graft Technician so you can do this. And there’s just like a bunch of cool things you can add to your body, like: Item 8, gills let you breathe underwater. Item 10, echoreceptors, give you echolocation of 40 feet. Just so many cool things like that. There’s like a bioluminescence one, I think. There’s a, you can have like an anglerfish light on your head. Um…

[00:51:01] Navaar: You can be Wolverine and have bone claws.

[00:51:05] Esther: Yeah! So I just love this addition of stuff you can do to your body. I think it’s brilliant and lovely. Great idea.

[00:51:15] Navaar: Yeah, I’m with you. Maybe this is the feat that I take instead, instead of the other one. No, truly like, I think: were these adventure paths balanced for me to bring in all this new remaster stuff? Probably not. But guess what? If I can convince my GM to let me do it, I’m going to do it.

Yes, but I do like the grafts are really really cool. The riding companion, or the animal companions, rather, the advanced animal companion is a lot of fun. I think one of the other really cool things about the Athamaru, just to kind of go back a little bit, is they –you can get an eel that you can carry around with you throughout your campaign, and it becomes a giant eel that becomes your mount later.

And it’s this very, like, similarly, like, special, like, ancestry thing, just in the same way that, like, as a gnoll, I didn’t have to be a gnoll Sorcerer. I could just, one of the feats I could take was having a little hyena animal companion. And this way you can get, like, this eel animal companion. It’s really, really– I love it.

[00:52:18] Esther: Totally.

The Menagerie

[00:52:19] Navaar: Yeah. And the Menagerie, there’s just some… why, there’s just some nasty little, just some nasty little things in here. This is like a terrifying, um, Scavenger’s Reign creature. This Blooming Guardian, which just, it looks like a, like a fungus deer, the best I can describe it.

And yeah, I need that. I need more Scavenger’s Reign in my fantasy TTRPGs. 

[00:52:50] Esther: There’s a creature called a Sky Fisher that’s kind of like a giant, um, jellyfish. Like, Portuguese Man-O-War in the sky, on page 181. Terrifying, but cool. If you’re interested to read more about the werecreature lore, that’s on 194 and 195. And then there’s a weremoose and a wereshark on the pages right after that.

Yeah, there’s, there’s some good stuff there. I, I really — one thing I want to shout them out for, like, something I thought they did really well is that some werecreatures, like, really enjoy being a werecreature, especially those who were, like, born as a werecreature. And those who are turned often struggle with it a little bit more.

And I think there’s, like, some resonance for me as a disabled person, like, with how people experience disability. Some people —

[00:53:37] Navaar: Hmm.

[00:53:38] Esther: Really like enjoy it or have positive experiences, and some people are like my body has betrayed me. And I think that’s like a really beautiful resonant thing. Um, so in addition to my critiques I wanted to give that shout out.

Well done.

[00:53:52] Navaar: I like that. Yeah. They really, they were in their bag when they did these monsters. There’s some stuff in here that’s just so, what… what… what…what did we… ? Some of it’s really cool. Some of it’s like, oh, like, OK, well, you know, we got we got a new dinosaur that has a flame above its head. That’s awesome. 

Um, yeah, that Sky Fisher’s wild. I do want to see, I’m trying to remember if it was in a different book that we already talked about, or if it was in this one, and I think it might be, it is in this one. So there’s new sort of unicorn types?

[00:54:25] Esther: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[00:54:27] Navaar: Shout out to Akinomi Art, uh, my friend who did these.

[00:54:32] Esther: Aki, friend of the show!

[00:54:34] Navaar: Yeah, friend of the show! She did, she wrote them, she didn’t do the art, just to be clear. But yes, there are some really fun things, in here, the wereshark is so funny. Anyway, but yeah. I think like, in terms of, of books to get, again, for like, inspiration, I think this hands down, it’s such a fun book. Will absolutely like, fill you with campaign ideas immediately, as it did with me, I think. Snd just a lot of really good fun rules, fun feats, archetypes. Give your players a free archetype! That’s why it’s there, that’s why it’s called free, it’s free for a reason, just do it! and let that free archetype be, whatever, or werecreatures, or XXX… yeah. Like there’s so many really just amazing options, I think that’s is my point. And I think just like to get into more specifically like reading all of these like field notes, getting into what’s going on with these Wardens and the guardians and uh, and his whole crew. Yeah. ’cause these wardens are like…

Wardens of the Wild

[00:55:37] Esther: So gorgeous. 

[00:55:37] Navaar: Elder, Elder Scrolls bosses, in terms of like, how visually captivating they are. 

[00:55:44] Esther: So there’s, there’s four wardens which appear — they’re Level 22 creatures, they’re at the end of the book where Baranthet and the crew, like, run across them, and their, their search has come to culmination. There’s the Warden of Caverns and Burrows, the Warden of Forests and Meadows, The Warden of Oceans and Rivers, and the Warden of Peaks and Skies. And they all have gorgeous art, really cool abilities. 

I just also want to note that, like, for a lot of the creatures in this book, there’s, like, little crew notes next to each entry from different members of the Zoetrope’s crew that are so, like, in these beautiful character voices. And, you, you read about all of their adventures before each of these sections, including, like, when you get into the Wardens of the Wild. And it’s just such a lovely, cohesive narrative.

And gosh, these Wardens are incredible. Absolutely amazing.

[00:56:37] Navaar: I do want to point out, so one of the, one of the Athamaru crew member is named Grefu. And like they describe him and he’s like this really amazing warrior, but he just wants to cook. I haven’t seen Dungeon Meshi, but, uh, it gave me very, it gave me like Dungeon Meshi vibes.

But, as you were talking about like the little, the notes from the crew, I was on that page of the Alicorn — and it’s, and it’s just him saying, “Sky Rider. It’d be nice to ride an Alicorn someday.” It’s just like, and the other ones are like more, there’s much more words. I just think it’s funny to just be like, yeah, I’d like that.

[00:57:14] Esther: I’d like to ride that.

[00:57:16] Navaar: Yeah.

[00:57:17] Esther: Yeah, on the opposite page, um, there’s the Pale Horse entry, and I think Ten, the Surki um, I want to say, like, the ship’s mechanic or something, has this whole, like, almost poem-like entry, all lowercase. And it’s like a Tumblr post. Yeah, they’re a great contrast.

[00:57:36] Navaar: Yeah. Yeah. It’s so funny. Because truly, like, if you’re, like, if you’re doing your field notes and you just refuse to capitalize or use punctuation, I think that’s hilarious. Yeah, but anyway, we enjoy this book. I think we can say.

[00:57:51] Esther: I thought it was so good.

[00:57:52] Navaar: Yes, absolutely, yeah. It’s definitely going to be one of those ones that, It’s gonna be like at the forefront of next time I write something, or have the time to plan an actual play.

It’s gonna be one of the ones that I build off of a lot, ’cause I think it’s, yeah, it just seems fun. There’s some good stuff.

[00:58:12] Esther: Same, there’s some really, really good stuff. And I highly recommend this book. It’s just, it’s really fun. It’s got a lot of great material in it and it’s a great addition to your Pathfinder collection.

[00:58:24] Navaar: Heck yeah! 

Outros

[00:58:26] Esther: All that being said, yeah, you got anything to plug?

[00:58:30] Navaar: First of all, thanks again for joining us after a very short amount of time. I’m squinting at camera. Um, yeah, check out…. well, follow me wherever. Twitter. I guess Bluesky is doing stuff. There’s GIFs now. There’s DMs now. I’m not really around to know, but I did get the updated email, uh, about those specific things. And I think I might have sent one GIF just to see if I could do it.

All that to say: NavaarSNP. N-A-V-A-A-R-S-N-P. Uh, follow me there to figure out, uh, all the things that I’m doing. Check out Secret Nerd podcast. My other podcast that is sleeping right now, but, but is in production mode, we’ll say. And production mode for what? I’m not going to tell you yet, but while you’re waiting to find that out, go listen to Ties That Bind, which is an actual play 10-part series of The Corrupted, which is the game that I wrote, which is all about fictional tension and conflict.

And it’s a really great story, it’s amazing, uh, we might be up for some things. Not CRIT Awards, not because we don’t like the CRIT Awards. We just, we’re not popular enough for that.

[00:59:43] Esther: I nominated you. You should have been in the finalists.

[00:59:47] Navaar: And I appreciate you! No, but all that to say, there are some other things that I’m really excited about that will be announced hopefully soon. Ties That Bind is an amazing show, I’m in love with it, I’ve listened to it six times outside of me actually doing all the editing and being a part of the GMing and production.

Yeah, check that out. Secret Nerd podcast, uh, wherever you pod. Secret N-R-D-social on Twitter. I refuse to have a Bluesky for it. uh, also check out An Unwavering Force, the Pathfinder 2E actual play that I’m in. If you’re a fan of The Acolyte, unrelated to my other mention of this show earlier, The Acolyte and our show happen to have a lot of similarities.

We did it first. I think they were in production for years, but we didn’t, we don’t know anybody on the production team. It’s just a weird happenstance. Uh, some of it is because we’re playing a specific tropes. Some of it is just wild. So come check out why that’s wild. I recently in an unreleased episode, jumped out of a starship and because of specific things in Pathfinder, did not die.

So I think you should come listen to figure out why that happened. And that’s it. I think that’s all the, that’s all the plugs I have.

[01:01:01] Esther: All good plugs. Listen to Navaar, listen to all the things. Yeah, follow me at dungeonminister everywhere. Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, which is private, but maybe I’ll accept your requests, you never know.

[01:01:12] Navaar: I won’t. For those of you who have been trying to request my private Instagram, I will not accept those. I apologize. Just so we’re clear.

[01:01:20] Esther: I, if I know you, I probably will. If I don’t know you, I probably won’t. Um, but… 

[01:01:24] Navaar: Same. Yeah.

[01:01:25] Esther: Just, just sayin’. Anyway, y’all, if you liked the Awakened Animal archetype, if you’re intrigued by it, maybe listen to a little show called Chromythica, where one of my players plays an Awakened Animal. We have twelve episo– no, eleven episodes out, twelve in production, 30 something recorded.

So, the show, I promise you, is going places. Just at a very slow pace in, in release. Um, anyway, uh, maybe out Chromythica. Um, maybe check out — I, I guess, I can say I am a finalist for two CRIT Awards. I don’t know if the voting is going to be open.

[01:02:03] Navaar: Deserved.

[01:02:04] Esther: Thank you, it feels weird, but I’m, I’m doing a thing that I talked about in therapy today where I’m like, I’m trying to accept it. So yeah, I’m up for Best GM Paizo with some other really incredible folks, just honored to be in the category. And the Games for Gaza event that I organized, last fall is up for, like, a community award. Finally, I dropped a trailer for an upcoming project of mine called A Haunting, Beloved with my new little productions thing, I am floating. And you can find that trailer at my Twitter presence and Bluesky at dungeonminister. Or just search engine of choice A Haunting, Beloved trailer.

A Haunting, Beloved is a story about disability and love and gothic horror, and I made it with a group of really fantastic, talented folks. I’m very excited. I will let you all know when it is out in the world. And I think that sums up my stuff.

And most importantly, you can follow Know Direction at KnowDirection on Bluesky, on YouTube, Mastodon, I’m not sure if we’re active there anymore, but we have an account! And you can join our Discord to talk about the shows hosted by the network, Pathfinder, other TTRPGs, and more! So do that! And yeah, I think that brings us to the close…

[01:03:21] Navaar: Yeah, I just will say, obviously Esther and I move at our speed, that we are able to. But, there are a lot of amazing folks on the Know Direction team who work on things faster than us. So sometimes you’ll, you know, be written, written blogs, things like that, that’ll come out, that’ll talk about some of these books as they’re coming out.

So definitely check out all that stuff for some faster information. Of course, you’re going to want to come listen to us talk, because of course. But, just saying, if you’re like, “But I want to know about this thing now,” there’s some options for you. Check out all the stuff we got.

[01:03:53] Esther: Totally. All right, y’all. Well, this has been so much fun. Until next time, I think we’re gonna come back with really fun interviews for y’all next, fingers crossed. Until then, this has been Know Direction. We will see you soon. Bye! 

[01:04:07] Navaar: Bye! 

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Maybe I’ve come to truly enjoy the Iruxi from the interaction of the tribe in the Kingmaker Adventure Path that the heroes of our game have incorporated into the Kingdom without any violence, only understanding and diplomacy, but seeing Baranthet’s opening to Howl of the Wild immediately endeared me to the tale woven around the new sourcebook. I love that they’ve included numerous in-character written pieces by Baranthet, or at least from him and/or his crew. I did say in my last article about Howl of the Wild we’d weave through any lore pieces! There’s more in-character pieces than just chapter sections, woven into them and presented as sidebars that inform while giving a nice frame of reference whether you’re a GM or a player. Let’s see what we can learn from the crew of the Zoetrope!

The Zoetrope’s Quest

What is the Zoetrope? Well that first chapter is entitled The Zoetrope and its Crew for a reason. It’s the airship the team will use in their explorations and seeking. What are they seeking? The Wardens of the Wild. The foreword I quote above goes on to discuss the what and why of this quest. Basically, Baranthet’s grandmother told him the tale of the four colossal beasts that were stewards of the four biomes of Golarion: land, sea, sky, and all that is underground. Eventually the time would come for these Wardens to pass their mantles in a ceremony called the Migration, where all would come together with numerous animals and other creatures. Baranthet never quite acted on it, only briefly attending school, before taking up a quiet job back at home. But now that brief university stint and a professor that believes in Baranthet’s work has arranged for an expedition and the funds necessary to find the Migration. Off they go, with beautiful artistic detail of the airship amidst Barantet’s recounting of first coming aboard and exploring it. Such information would really be useful for describing such for any players, especially if a 3d model or flip map is made.

The Crew

That each further member of the crew is of an ancestry detailed in this book is perfectly done. Even the Iruxi will have Remaster rules provided in the forthcoming Player Core 2. But we get a page for each crewmember, and they’re almost like iconic NPCs. I hope they’re listed in the NPC Core Codex that was announced during PaizoCon. Charileia is a minotaur, an eager traveler, and the scribe. I wonder how much of the written detail we see from Baranthet is actually touched up or recorded by her in theory. Grefu the cook is an Athmaru and it occurs to me reading again through his write up that they are written as if the expedition had already happened, or at least his is. And it seems Grefu is a writer of sorts too since he has his own cookbook. Dr. Pom is indeed a medical doctor and an Awakened Animal who loves tea! 

Lythea is the navigator and also a Mermaid. She was swept up in a storm, found refuge on a ship called the Horizon Seeker, and has been working as a navigator ever since. I do love that she has a supramarine chair in order to get around and stay hydrated. Their scout is Telero, a centaur, and he’s got Cayden Cailean energy but maybe that’s just the youthful exuberance and an eagerness to prove his capabilities. I think we’ve all been there. The final member of the crew is Ten, or Whose Antenna is Askew (they/them). They’re the mechanic and a member of the Surki ancestry. While normally a people found underground, Ten has been exploring the surface ever since they found something of distinct magical variety and taste that was a cookie, though why it was heavy with enchantment energies is a good question. I appreciate the introduction of them as while they aren’t really featured for about 40 pages after that intro, they set the tone and create insight along the way, showing the purpose of this tome. Exploration and learning!

Ancestry Lore

Before we go on to that next section, I wanted to call out a few sidebars in the ancestry entries. Each has a bit on adventures of that ancestry, which I think is great to give either some typical tales of inspiration for players or something to play against type. There’s suggested classes. I am tempted by a centaur Druid (Greenspeaker) or witch! The Athamaru teach us about their metamorphosis to grow larger. In Awakened Animal it’s recommended to have NPCs be surprised – sure, they’re rare – but have them adjust and recover so it’s not too burdensome. We also learn of Outsea, which I hadn’t heard of whatsoever. This is a magically maintained lake of saltwater in the River Kingdoms. There’s merfolk but also other aquatic species like naga and azarketi. We also learn of an exiled minotaur prince living in Absalom, at least that’s what he’s referred to after saving the primarch there. Very valuable insights and info. I”ll be sure to bring Outsea up for our Kingmaker game.

Mechanics Reflecting Lore

Every chapter – like Techniques and Tricks – has Baranthet reflecting on their adventure as well as some section areas – like Warden Spells & Ranger Options. Be sure to read them all. It’s actually in that section we see our first Zoetrope character sidebar. Baranthet talks on the nature of the word warden as I mentioned in my last article. I like the theory that the abilities of these Wardens – the beasts – influenced the magical abilities that rangers use now. While nothing particularly noteworthy to the Age of Lost Omens is mentioned on page 64’s Zoophonic Bards, it’s a lovely tale of the crew escaping violence with a creature due to an Orc with such musical talents calming the dangers. I really, really want to see that battle Disney princess…

I mentioned the Thlipit Contestant (seen above) also in my last article, but I felt it worth mentioning again from a lore perspective. We get almost a half page detailing how the martial art started as that wager between bored tripkees and then details of the fluid movements used in the whip-like dance and fighting style. There’s mention of the tripkee migration to Vidrian and so there’s many in that Mwangi nation who’ve been exposed to such. Here we see mention again of Iruxi, who have picked it up though they’ve added to the tradition as they don’t have a tongue or tail. Baranthet even has a sidebar mentioning he had a lasher league in his youth!

Dangerous Equipment

Once into the equipment you have to consider where companions are coming from, like the Sotalashu I mentioned last time. That of all the companions has the clearest impact on the lore of the world. However, I’d love to know where Kangaroos are common! Professor Baranthet’s notes at the start of Grafts reveals it was venturing for an island in the Arcadian ocean where they spotted people with the medical ingenuity of grafting. Shark fins, gills, luminescent skin, and even flying squirrel membrane, which is only level 3 at the start so reasonable for an early adventurer. Considering the invention of some Arcadians, I’m not too surprised. With Beast Armor and Armaments there’s a note about beast guns not using normal ammunition as well as Baranthet’s sidebar on ethically sourced horns and other natural resources on page 103. I found the idea of killing a Nightmare dangerous enough, but then using its bones to make the Nightmare’s Lament pistol is pretty badass. I agree with Baranthet – who’s going to care about that harvesting. There’s definitely a delicate balance to over-resourcing and should be considered with any of the nature-based adventures. While I didn’t note any lore finds amongst the alchemical or adventuring gear, there’s still a lot to unpack there! Or pack there! Ha, I’m sorry! I had to.

A Menagerie of Creatures

Once we get into the Golarion’s Menagerie. i.e. bestiary, we start to see that sidebar used for the Zoetrope’s crew to speak on various creatures. On page 125 is the Almiraj and Telero has a lovely in-character and here you get that humor as he jokes the Baranthet would chide him from being too close to a cliff, eating toxic berries, etc. You might not think it related to the Almiraj but he jokes about the “Professor” stopping in his tracks for seeing a hare. Well, it wasn’t. It was the Almiraj! The opening line even refers to it as a yellow hare, and I can see why (see below). The very next creature – the Apothecary Bee – impresses Ten with its brewing ability, but it’s also a hilarious bit of commentary. Why use punctuation indeed! I mean, I will, for our readers, and hopefully Ten will learn to do so. This just continues with each creature. Dr. Pom wisely advises using some poisons to the benefit of the injured like basilisk venom to petrify someone to isolate while they are moved. The Chimera gets a lengthy write-up by Baranthet and we get not only an understanding of their partnership and child development, but also their social structure: they form prides! Happy Pride by the way! I do love the mechanics provided for different heads we might find on Chimera including a snake, a wolf, a dragon, a cave worm… They can get pretty dangerous! As Baranthet discussed with Dr. Pom, it’s even possible one of the heads might be undead! Meanwhile we learn more about the Okaiyo Ocean in the Decapod Dinghy, a gargantuan beast that like massive crabs that people ride. Lythea even recounts riding one as a young girl. 

A number of dinosaurs are included including the terrifying Thruneosaurus Rex, a level 17 creature. Guess who’s responsible for that? If you guessed Cheliax, you guessed right! Sounds like a Diabolic Jurassic Park went wrong, cause now the creatures are loose in the Whisperwood. Good luck all! There’s gorgons, hydras, gold-eating marps, seals, sharks, and gem-eating cave squirrels. Basically, the wildlife will eat your treasure or eat you, possibly with multiple heads so double good luck all. I also appreciate the variant unicorn especially the undead pale horse. Gee, who’d kill a unicorn… Certainly no one in Kingmaker… A number of werecreatures appear, with a couple of pages by Baranthet describing their forms, the impact of silver, etc. But let’s leave off with the beautiful Virtuosic Lyrebird, that got Lythea’s attention too. They’re beautiful (see below) and they cast spells through song. Lythea explains how a secondary trill to their song replaces any somatic casting. It sure looks like it’d sound exquisite. I challenge ever GM to perform as one when encountered. We don’t get any special detail of where they might be found but do learn a small group of apprentice mages created the first lyrebirds as part of their graduating thesis. They were supposed to be familiars, but the apprentices improved the lyrebirds skills too well and soon they were teleporting away or vaporizing classrooms. I’m sure there will be some in the Stolen Lands because I want there to be!

After all those chance encounters, the tales told, the information gleaned from exploration, the Zoetrope’s journey was nearing end but thankfully (spoilers) but they found the Wardens of the Wild and we get a lovely short story in the Dark Night on page 198 that rolls right into the beautiful art below. Each is a unique, gargantuan, level 22 beast tied to one or more elements. We don’t get a specific location for where the MIgration is meeting but we learn the site must have ties to each element and be accessed by sea, sky, and underground. This easily allows for numerous possible quest ideas. Maybe your heroes are academic seeking them out. Maybe that choice location is close to where your heroes will be. Maybe devious forces are seeking out the Wardens to stop the Migration from happening, or one vile individual wants the mantle(s) for themself. You could go with a corrupted environment, a blight, etc. quest line and have your heroes needing to battle the mighty creatures. It does make me wonder if some of the forthcoming War of the Immortals storylines will include these Wardens seeking to protect or find chosen guardians to help. Clearly they aren’t part of the Kingmaker adventure path, but I’m very eager to weave them in. There’s so many other great details and ties in this book that I’ve just got to!

The Journey’s Conclusion is a nice literary in-character piece from Baranthet’s perspective. Where the Foreword ends with a reference to him as a naturalist, by the end here at the Epilogue, he is referenced as an adventurer. That’s because he’s no mere Professor now, and like any good group of adventurers is eager to go out and explore, learn more. I encourage you to invest in Howl of the Wild and join the Zoetrope’s crew on their adventure of discovery and learning! Visit your local library but get out and see the world, as I’m sure Baranthet would encourage!

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Howl of the Wild cover, Paizo, art by Wayne Reynolds

1. My Quest for the Wardens foreword excerpt, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
2. A Journey’s Conclusion closing banner or “Light writer plate of crew upon returning from their journey, from official Zoetrope expedition logs”, Howl of the Wild, Paizo, art by Ivan Koritarev
3. Ghost Bull Minotaur, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
4. Thlipit Contestant, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
5. Almiraj, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
6. Virtuosic Lyrebird, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
7. Wardens of the wild double page banner, Howl of the Wild, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Alex Flagg – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

A wild adventure indeed as Howl of the Wild is now available!  I was actually in Chicago for a big Salesforce conference with work last month, and each night once back at my hotel room I was reading through as I couldn’t not invest in this brand new book from James Case and team!  James kindly introduces us to the authors in this Paizo blog article.  I’ve been so excited for this book for a number of reasons, which I’ll get to.  Heck, even my players are like “when is it out?” for the wild implications for Kingmaker and my brother, playing an Ancient Elven Druid.  I absolutely adore the framing of this book like others before it utilizing an In Character voice, namely that of Baranthet Zamendi, an Iruxi naturalist.  You can learn more about him and his crew aboard the Zoetrope here on the Paizo blog.  They’ve some fun details and there’s a ton of lore to dig through too, but that’ll be next time.  First, let’s break down this amazing book that is going to make for a howling good time!

That first section is about the Zoetrope and its Crew, starting with Baranthet, but it eventually moves to cover a number of new Ancestries, all of which are at least uncommon with two being rare.  Starting with the uncommon, the Athamaru are fish-like and get a swim speed right out the gate.  They’re primarily found in Xidao in Tian Xia.  Xidao’s that underwater kingdom west of Minkai I mentioned in my first article on the Tian Xia World Guide.  Love that now we have rules to do a full on PC with them.  And they’re not the only underwater ancestry we get with Merfolk.  Shout out to Mikhail Rekun for the detail presented and learn more about Mikhail in this Presenting with John Godek!  It’s not easy for them to move around on land, but they can spend time out of water provided they return to aquatic regions every 24 hours.  There’s a feat to get them walking around with a 15’ move speed, but there’s other options too, which I’ll mention in Equipment!  Centaurs are a great addition, another helpful one for our Kingmaker campaign especially should someone lose a character.  Minotaur’s an ancestry I’ve always wanted to see and if I ever run a sequel to my favorite Dragonlance all Wizards of High Sorcery game, then I’ll need it.  Surki is the first of the new rare ancestries.  They are an insectoid humanoid base that reminds me of the Mondoshawan aliens (those big metal guys who had the key, Lilu, etc.) in Fifth Element.  They’re from the Darklands and they’re magiphages, drawing magic from the world around them.  They use it to project effects in various ways.  I love how the magical energy they most consumed in youth is the tradition their feats manifest as, giving them a bit of versatile flavor.  

But I’ve saved the best for last friends, it’s the second rare ancestry but one I bet we’ll see a lot of:  Awakened Animal.  Now we finally know what happened to all those animals Druids have gone around awakening!  Of course, it might have been the work of Fae or an enchanted spring that awakened your mind.  They get or rather retain an ability to converse with animals of their kind, using Diplomacy to interact with them.  The heritages are a perfect approach:  do you climb, fly, run, or swim?  The flying ones however have it a bit tough with a need to take a 1st level ancestry feat to actually have a fly speed rather than a simple ability to float.  The idea is that what was an automatic, intrinsic action now takes focus and concentration.  The never take falling distance of any kind is a pretty sweet benefit, and they do have to balance it somehow.  Also by level 9 you can have full flight of 25’ with a feat.  There’s so many entertaining and exciting awakened animal ideas, like what I have to assume is a bear turned investigator pictured below.

I meant to note that we start with some Special Rules to help with some of the non-standard aspects of the ancestries we typically play.  Need to play a PC of large size like a minotaur?  No problem, but make sure you understand how to squeeze in spaces.  Want to be a tiny little creature, like say a mouse?  Well now there’s rules for that equipment.  You’re maybe big enough someone can ride you like a centaur.  They do suggest that if a player really wants to play an aquatic PC in a predominantly terrestrial campaign, you either provide equipment to support or maybe some free feats with possible complications for story purposes.  I like the idea of the merfolk having feet unless it’s a full moon.  I suppose taking away their voice has been done before.  Flying details are much about balance like we discussed above.  Perhaps you want to allow only 15’ flight at first but that can trivialize some encounters or let flying PCs outshine others.  It seems wise to find a balance of additional ancestry feats for everyone, or maybe use the Ancestry Paragon optional rule.  Starting with two ancestry feats and picking up more along the span of the game could help find the right balance you want to maintain in a group.  I appreciate the foresight to have a short discussion of these considerations because it well supports players seeking options beyond the core.

The next section covers a wild array of Techniques and Tricks.  There are a number of feats for barbarians with the animal instinct or untamed order druids called Untamed Morphs.  There’s a number of reactive feats like Creature Comforts at level 4 that lets you reduce your frightened condition by 1 because you’ve spent so long amongst wild animals.  Or the level 16 Too Much To Swallow that lets you change shape as you are subject to some effect that you could Escape from (like being swallowed) and if you change into a shape too large to be subjected to that effect, you automatically escape!  There’s also new animal instinct options to choose from like Bat, Crab, Scorpion, and the Tyrannosaurus!  The Spider gets a Web attack that doesn’t do damage, but is a 15’ ranged attack that slow creatures.  Could be a great debuff.  Animal Form spell has a final paragraph too about new forms like Crab, Crocodile, Orca, and an adorable Seal.

We then move onto Warden Spells and other Ranger Options.  A few feats and focus spells.  The Natural Conduit is a good 4th level feat allowing the ranger to use their companion as the origin of their spell.  I want my wolf to heal my allies.  There’s a really great sidebar here about the “Wardens” of Nature, which greatly pertains to the Wardens of the Wild mentioned later, but I must resist until next article.  But yes, isn’t it interesting how often we use protective titles like Wardens, Guardians, Protectors…  One of the Warden focus spells is the threat of that power, 3rd level, called Threatening Mimicry.  I appreciate it only affects non-allied creatures within 10’ to frighten them with the perception of the warden’s growth in strength/size, and natural features like claws or poison.

Witches of the Wild get a few pages, starting with some new patrons like the Devourer of Decay.  It and the other patrons are unsurprisingly primal list patrons.  I love the kholo art (see above) decaying the meat, though I think we all know it could’ve well been a creature getting the Scrounger’s Glee hex cantrip cast on it.  That cantrip frightens your target, but also can heal an ally that critically succeeds at a strike against it.  Meanwhile your familiar causes sickened 1 to a creature nearby with less than half its hit points.  Definitely the key is focus fire with this patron!  The Ripple in the Deep’s familiar ability lets you summon a small sudden wave to push a creature 5’.  That could be useful for battlefield control.  Meanwhile the Whisper of Wings lets the familiar fly 15’ when you cast a sustain a hex.  New greater lessons exist for decay, flock, and shark.  Flock gets you Sheltering Wings allowing your familiar to move up to 30’ along with an ally that moves within 15’ of you.  The familiar goes along on their back and they get some cover from the brief wings that grew.  Great way to get your familiar into battle along with your front line!  A few low level feats are given too like Scatter Swarm, allowing you to damage any swarm that threatens your familiar.  It’s only level 2, but won’t come up too often.  Still the fact you can do it at will is pretty cool.  There’s also Portents of the Haruspex, which is a divine who reads the future through the entrails of animals.  This feat lets you do so just by reading a creature’s wounds.  And Wild Witch’s Armaments expands your Witch’s Armaments to do more damage with a second nail Strike, sicken with a critical hit of your jaws, or shoot your hair like quills at a range of 15’.  Those witches are wild indeed!

Bards get a new muse in the Zoophonic Bards section.  Yep, the Zoophonia Muse is focused on the sounds of the wild and natural world:  birdsong, wolf howls, and more.  The granted spell is Summon Animal, and makes for a perfect Disney Princess build, with the Zoophonic Communication as your muse feat.  It allows you to Request from animals with Performance like you shared a language, but you don’t get any ability to actually understand their responses.  So hopefully the animal goes right into performing the request, because a fair amount of perception is at play. You do also get to use Performance to command an animal instead of Nature.  Certainly your Performance will be better long term, but it’s not a huge benefit.  I’m a bit more interested in the 8th level Songbird’s Call that grants you a composition focus spell.  In a 15’ emanation, you call forth a wicked storm of songbirds to attack all in the area.  I read this and immediately thought of Snow White’s songbird attack from Shrek 3, sadly the worst of the Shrek’s bur it’s always going to be hard to beat Shrek 2, which is clearly the best.  Don’t agree?  At me on social media and let’s talk!  I do want to give Musical Summons, a 3 action 14th level feat, a mention.  I love the idea that you can cast summon animal and use a one-action composition spell.  With the right build you can get some powerful summons out while maintaining some compositions.  It really is Snow White calling her army!

Still under Techniques and Tricks, but next we get a number of Archetypes.  Eight of them to be precise and I’m particularly excited about one of them.  Beastmaster gets updated for Pathfinder2E and my brother has already retrained his Druid into picking up this archetype.  Of note, however, the main dedication feat and details are going to be in Player Core 2 so these are additional feats and options.  I love Pack Movement, an 8th level 2 action feat, that lets both you and your companion Stride and if you both come within reach of the same creature, you can make a melee Strike against it.  By 20th level, you can take Pack Takedown.  You and your two active companions get to each make a melee Strike against a target that all of you are threatening.  It counts as off-guard and provided more than one attack hits, you count the damage of all strikes in totality before applying resistance and weakness.  It may be 20th level, but it’s definitely the epitome of pack fighting!  The Clawdancer meanwhile is a cultural tradition of the catfolk of southern Tian Xia with nimble movements, most feats representing a single action or reaction.  By level 16 you can do a Storm of Claws with three actions.  You get to Strike three times, multiple attack penalty increasing as normal, but each time you hit get to Step.  It’s more dance fighting than whirling dervish and I love it.

Ostilli Host is very interesting, an archetype reserve for Surki though maybe a GM could be convinced to open it up for special circumstances.  It’s a graft, which I’ll get to more later, but it’s also a symbiote.  It’s not quite the Trill of Star Trek, but a plant animal hybrid that helps repair a node where the Surki is damaged while also granting other capable abilities.  The dedication feat alone lets you start to absorb magic with one action, increasing your AC and saving throws against the next magical attack, cantrip or spell that targets you.  It’s +1 at first, but +2 at 12th level.  However, you also get the one action Spit Ambient Magic to fire off a magical dart that does 1d6 damage, getting better at 6th level and then every 4 levels.  It’s a really cool archetype with many interesting feats.  If I was planning a Surki I’d be prone to take it, playing off a bit of a  magical Venom feel.  Many of the feats increase your ability to absorb magic or use that magic dart like the 10th level Spell Swallow.  Swarmkeeper is also quite appealing as you keeps a whole swarm, hive, or nest of insects to attack your enemies.  It lives within your body but when you have it Swarm Forth (for 2 actions) it is a bit like a minion, more that you sustain your focused communication with it for an action each turn.  But it can bite and sting for 1d4 damage, getting better over levels.  And that’s just the dedication feat.  At 12th level it can be made of death cicadas from the Mana Wastes that do terrifying mental damage.  Indeed the targets end up frightened too.  Oh and the swarm can fly too, so good luck pretty much everybody.

Next, we get the Thlipit Contestant.  This archetype also has strong cultural history as the martial art started as a wager between a group of bored Tripkees (formerly called Grippli) that I think we’re getting the Remaster update for in Tian Xia Character Guide.  Basically this martial art focuses on the prehensile nature of your tongue or tail.  The dedication feat makes it a weapon that does 1d4 bludgeoning with grapple and reach, even counting in the flail group.  Subsequent feats increase its ability or your use of it.  I like the reaction feat at 6th level called Snap Falling Fruit that allows you to help intercept projectiles from ranged attacks, offering +2 circumstance to AC for the target, possibly knocking it completely out of the air.  After watching X-Men 97 (watch it!), this made me think of Nightcrawler.  The Wild Mimic – yes I’m skipping one to do last! – is about being a feral fighter, learning from the deadly beasts of the wild.  This archetype makes me think of Blanka from Street Fighter including the 6th level Electrogenesis feat.  If you’ve seen a creature do electricity damage with an unarmed Strike you learn to generate a bit yourself due to your connection to primal magic.  It’s all observe and mimic, adapt sort of skills.  This could be a great archetype for a monk or ranger, or a combo.  Then there’s the Winged Warrior, an archetype you must have permanent wings to take.  They do point out this could be from a graft, and not just from an ancestry.  It starts by just letting you Leap farther and increase any fly Speed granting feats by 5’.  But there’s more such as Gusting Spell, letting you fly 10’ any time you cast a spell with the air or electricity trait as a single action.  You’re flying at sonic speeds by level 16 with the two action, once an hour, Sonic Strafe!  Fly twice and any adjacent creature takes 10d6 sonic damage!

But my fine friends and folks, it’s the four pages of the Werecreature archetype that I was drooling for, like a wereboar hungry for dinner!  Or maybe you’re a werebat, or werebear, or werecrocodile, or weremoose, or wererat, or wereshark, or weretiger, or of course… a werewolf!  You might have been born with it, or maybe it was Maybeline’s bite when you got into a scuffle at the bar.  Whether natural or afflicted, there are archetype feats through 16 to build the werecreature of your desire.  A nice sidebar gives you the speed, attack, damage, traits, and special abilities of your weretype.  Werebats can do some within the round flight (make sure you land or you’ll fall) and weresharks get to go amphibious in their hybrid shape.  Their animal shape has no land speed but they’ve the aquatic trait and a Swim speed of 35’ to go deep diving!  After we got feats for the undead archetypes, I’ve been itching for werecreature.  You can easily play your Ustalav-based campaign now!  Special shout out for that 8th level You Don’t Smell Right feat.  A scent ability to get a secret Perception check and notice transformed or impersonating creatures is a very useful, on point ability.  At level 16?  Well you’re a Force of Nature, gaining fast healing 5 when in hybrid or animal shape.  But watch out!  Silver is still very much a danger!

A few new Spells are included in general, mostly primal but a few are arcane, divine, or occult.  Do you want Camel Spit or maybe the Claws of the Otter?  Those claws even do cold damage.  Foraging Friends (above) is a level 1, allowing you to call forth a handful of small animals to help you collect food.  PRimal Chorus is level 3 and lets you howl out to the animals and beasts within 1 mile, alerting you to how many there are.  It’s a bit like a Commune with Nature in that you can send out some simple commands, but also get a bonus to initiative should you interact with any of the creatures who react to your call.  With the level 7 Summon a Stampede you call forth panicking beasts with a spell that has an Arrive and a Depart effect.  It arrives to frighten and departs with severe bludgeoning damage and destroying difficult terrain.  I love those kinds of spells.

We then move to the new section of Supply Runs: On the Importance of Proper Gear.  There’s an incredible amount of items presented, but first we start with new Animal Companions!  My brother had been eager to get some cool companion options and there are many!  There’s a flying squirrel who has a Death From Above single action double Strike attack.  Maybe you want a Giraffe?  An Elk is fitting for the forested wilds.  They suggest using it for a moose as well.  But what really caught my brother’s attention was the Shotalashu, which has existed previously even in the Alien Archive.  They’re the lizard-like telepathic creatures from Castrovel.  My brother plays an Ancient Elf from the Mordent Spire, eager to see their people changed, and this opportunity from “the elves back home” was something he couldn’t pass up.  They aren’t even Advanced Companions, which are included as well:  Giant Eel, Giant Frog, Giant Wasp, Griffon, Hippocampus, Hippogriff, Orca, Umbrella Mushroom, and then two more that got me so excited.  First there’s the Riding Tarantula.  My heart jumped for my Ev’etaewayr from Valiant.  Even the art included his riding spider due to the Wild West of Arcadia style Luis brought to the game.  Then, there’s the Roc.  A huge animal companion that is level 16.  It gets a two action Snatch, allowing it to Strike with a talon and then Grab.  If that Grab works, it gets to Fly up to half its speed, carrying that target away.  With 60’ fly speed, that could get increasingly dangerous for many creatures!  My brother has always wanted a cool flying companion too, but for now he’s let his second animal companion be a giant hawk that’s medium size while he rides that Sotalashu.  Friggin’ druids!

As we get into the more equipment side of things, we start with Grafts.  I had a PC – a red robed mage if you’re familiar with Dragonlance – who was focused upon summoning and grafts.  Earl did amazing with that character, inventing very cool spells as well.  Now you too can make Grafts with the Graft Technician level 3 feat!  You can get formulas for them or devise your own.  I have to imagine they’re popular in places like Nex but maybe parts of Arcadia too from the fictional text that starts the section.  Compound eyes?  Sure, level 4!  Gills?  Why that’s just level 8 and only 950 gp!  Full on wings?  Well those will cost you at 15,000 gp as a level 17 item.  There’s all manner of grafts available and I look forward to seeing what some creative characters do with them.  There’s numerous Beast Armor and Armaments as well, using parts of creatures for their equipment, which we’ve long seen for the Beast Guns from Arcadia.  I have to say, a lot of this also makes me think of Delicious in Dungeon, an excellent anime I’ve been watching.  Yes, they primarily eat monsters but they utilize all parts of the monster too.  It may just be the idea of seeing a Hodag used for leather armor (Hodag Leather) or the branches of a scythe tree turned into a Bloodgorger Scythe.  Might I mention both are in Kingmaker?  Interesting, and useful!  Oh and the Trollhound Pick has trollhound tusks in it!  There’s a really pricey Leydroth Spellbreaker level 17 available for 15,000gp.  It’s a +3 greater striking blunderbuss and can dispel once per day with a 30’ cone blast.  The Alchemical Items include animal pheromones to influence an animal’s attitude.  There’s a DC to resist depending how greater your pheromones are.  The Hive Mother Bottle excites me though, level 8, in that it has a shrunken corpse of an ankhrav hive mother within!  Open the bottle and she comes out to play!  A few mutagents and poisons round it out with the Tatzylwyrm’s Grasp catching my attention.  Again, Tatzylwyrms are featured in Kingmaker.  Thank you to whoever did this on purpose; I guess it does make sense considering the wild nature of Kingmaker.

The Adventuring Gear includes a number of new items.  The Animal Blind caught my attention as it’s the typical collection of poles, cloth, and covering to help hide you from an animal when hunting.  Or maybe from any creature when you’re hunting them.  A friend is playing a gunslinger in my brother’s game and he’s always setting up his deployable cover.  Perhaps the most important is the Supramarine Chair, “a wheeled, water-filled bath or tank” intended originally for merfolk.  It’s a wheelchair for aquatic folks.  THere’s also the heavier duty Land-delver’s chair that acts as a traveler’s chair.  I’m glad they created this as something that would’ve evolved on its own, though I expect most merfolk still prefer not to go up on land if they can avoid it.  The Big Game Siege Weapons are mostly mid to high level items meant for some large or larger dangerous beasts.  A couple low level items are given like the Teekdoon, which is like a portable catapult, and the Trapdoor Actuator which seems more like a trap as it’s a trapdoor that is placed on a wall and launches some sort of iron rod.  It does require 2 crew to run it, so it can’t be a standalone trap but I guess useful for protecting a high-cliffed location.  Finally, a number of new Spell Catalysts are added.  The highest level is the Kushtaka Relic at level 13.  I had to look up what a kushtaka is as this relic comes from a human who transformed into one.  These are useful for attacking possessing spirits with spirit blast, either helping the possessed do better on their next save or possibly – if they critically fail their Fortitude save – immediately banished from the body of the possessed.  I know some people scoff at consumables, especially the 525 gp for a level 13 catalyst like this, but they can add incredible valuable single-use effects to spells.  I might pick up a bunch of Alicorn Hair.  It’s level 1, 4 gp and allows you to target an additional creature with stabilize.  That can be incredibly valuable for just a few gold.

What an exciting assortment of ancestries, class features, archetypes, and more!  This wild ride is truly an exploration of what can be found out there.  I’m very excited for next time, where I’ll dig through the various fictional pieces and lore woven into this extremely enjoyable (and useful) book.  I’ll also go through the Golarion’s Menagerie as a number of creatures are presented at the end of the book, including the powerful Wardens of the Wild!  Until then, I suggest you pick up and invest in Howl of the Wild!  And of course Happy Pride!  No matter whom you are, you are enough and there’s no one set way for your life.  Be you, be good to others, and be happy!  Pride started as a riot by BIPOC individuals, so I also encourage you to remember we are not alone and many other groups deserve support and camaraderie.  Remember the intersectionality of our identities.  We are all connected, and the more we remember that, the better I truly believe this world can be.

Wild, right?

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Howl of the Wild cover, Paizo, art by Wayne Reynolds

1. Back cover excerpt, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
2. Sailfish Merfolk, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
3. Devourer of Decay Kholo Witch, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
4. Witches of the Wild, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
5. Zoophonic Muse, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
6. Swarmkeeper, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
7. Foraging Friends spell, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
8. Grafts banner, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
9. Supramarine Chair, Howl of the Wild, Paizo
10. Awakened Animal (an Investigator Bear?), Howl of the Wild, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Joel Sparks – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now! (mp3)

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

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Featuring:

Seppy Yoon – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that punches popular culture icons into the hyperspace that is Essence20. 

I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting. 

About a year ago, someone (I tried to find out who but the best I could find was “a LEGO Store employee”) used a LEGO 3-in-1 Creator set that advertised unicorn, seahorse, and peacock builds to make a seal, a robot, a narwhal, and, most famously, The Millennium Falcon. So today we’re bringing a unicorn that’s also Star Wars’ most famous ship to Essence20 . And yes, I can already hear your judgemental thoughts. 

“You’re going to build that thing? You’re stranger than I thought.” 

Who Is My Lennium Falcorn?

An original character. Sort of. And no, I’m not going to make a habit of this. That was one time. One and a half if you count this build.  

The original idea I had for My Lennium Falcorn was a Cybertronian with a unicorn Bot Mode and a Corellian YT-1300 light freighter Alt Mode. The personality would be built around the extensive characterization Han Solo’s ship received in its myriad appearances across Star Wars media. 

I should point out that there is a Star Wars/Transformers crossover figure of the Millennium Falcon, one which splits in two, with each half converting into one of the ship’s famous pilots. This doesn’t break my rule against building established characters from the Essence20 licenses because (A) this is a different character with the same Alt Mode, and (B) unless Renegade signs the Star Wars license, there’s no way this character ever shows up in an Essence20 product. 

Building Essence20 My Lennium Falcorn

I originally planned on building this back in January. However, as I explained in the Maverick build that replaced it, “I misremembered the mechanics of an option that the build depended on.” I had it in my head that the Drone Origin from Decepticon Directive gave the character an Origin Benefit from a different Origin. I was so wrong about this it’s not even accurate to say I misremembered it. I invented a completely different mechanic. Not being able to gain any Unicorn Origin qualities made the unicorn Bot Mode a purely aesthetic choice, and therefore pointless in my eyes. So I put it aside. Until…

Last Friday, Renegade stealthily published a character creation guide I wrote for the latest multi-table mega event, Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle. As the name suggests, unlike last year, this crossover adventure brings My Little Pony into the mix. However, the Field Guide to Action & Adventure doesn’t include advanced crossover character creation rules for My Little Pony characters. Instead of limiting players to single-setting pony PCs in this crossover event, I put together a primer on the advanced crossover character creation rules, including instructions for applying them to My Little Pony Origins and Roles, and even threw in a few new options. Two of those options—the new Cybertronian Equestrian Influence and the Quadrupedal optional rule—make this build possible. 

And no, writing a rule to make this build possible isn’t an abuse of power. It’s proof of concept. This is exactly the kind of character we empower players to bring to Worlds Collide events. 

Origin

Drone (Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive)

Funny enough, even though I discovered that the Drone Origin didn’t do what I needed it to, I ended up picking it anyway. It gives us all the benefits of the Seeker Origin’s Alt Mode, but with room for more personality thanks to the General Perk from the Drone Origin Benefit, and a hang-up called the imperfection to make up for the Origin’s flexibility. I went with the Fiercely Independent imperfection, based on how L3-37, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character in Solo: A Star Wars Story, was a droid freedom fighter before having her consciousness uploaded into The Millennium Falcon’s computers. 

The other reason I went with Drone over Seeker was for flavor. Canonical, there are a million ships in the Star Wars universe just like The Millennium Falcon. It’s mass produced. However, between decades of repairs tweaking how it operates as well as upgrades overhauling its functions, there’s only one Corellian YT-1300 light freighter like it. This also lines up with the unicorn Bot Mode. Unicorns are just like horses in most ways, and the exceptions make them special. 

Finally, let’s talk about the Quadrupedal optional rule I mentioned earlier. When building a crossover character, you now have the option to define its physiology a bit. You choose whether the creature is Bipedal or Quadrupedal. Bipedal characters get 6-hands of equipment, Quadrupedal characters only get 4-hands of equipment but don’t suffer ↓1 to deal Blunt damage with unarmed attacks. My hope was that this little change opened up the ability to ponify a character without having to commit to an MLP Origin. So, for example, if you wanted to build a ponified version of Footloose called Hoofloose, you could choose the Soldier Origin from the G.I. JOE CRB and still represent him in a pony shape. In My Lennium Falcorn’s case, we’re fully committed to a Transformers Origin, but get to mechanically represent converting into a pony-shaped Bot Mode. 

Influences

1st Cybertronian Equestrian (Gen Con Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle Event – Character Preparations blog post)

2nd Cybertronian With Attitude (Field Guide to Action & Adventure)

3rd Stargazer (Field Guide to Action & Adventure)

I’m not sure if people have picked up on this, but the order I go into Influences, Origin, and Role changes based on how important each option is to the build. Influences basically always come in third. In this case, the Influences are as important as the Origin. Probably not surprising since I talked about how one of the new Influences in the Pony Puzzle character creation blog post made this build possible. 

Cybertronian Equestrian lets me choose an MLP Origin as the shape of my Bot Mode, granting a benefit based on the Origin I choose. Unicorn gives me Telekinesis, letting me move objects up to 50ft away with an Alertness Skill Test. Unlike the Unicorn Origin, it doesn’t give us the Magical General Perk. However, we’ll use our Drone Origin Benefit to grab that. 

Cybertronian With Attitude wasn’t part of my plan for this build at first. I wanted a third Influence and realized that I’d yet to use options from the Power Rangers spacefaring book, Across The Stars. I was surprised by how few Influences were in that book, only finding one I considered. Well, two, because giving a spaceship the Ship’s Crew Influence amused me, but I got a headache working out how the mechanics applied to flying oneself. The Influence I actually considered was Augmented, to represent all of the upgrades the ship’s undertaken. But the Drone Origin covers that, thematically, and none of the Influence Perk options felt groundbreaking to the build. 

While I had Across The Stars open, I noticed the Traveler Origin. Its Origin Benefit, Life Of A Thousand Roads, captured how much this ship has seen. A life of crime. A rebellion. A resistance. My Lennium Falcorn was a veteran of multiple Star Wars. Not so much that I would take the Traveler Origin over a Transformers Origin, but luckily the Cybertronian With Attitude Influence let me take a Power Rangers Origin Benefit as an Influence Perk. 

Because Cybertronian With Attitude is formatted like a Transformer Influence, I needed to choose a Hang-Up. I once again invoked L3-37 and went with Vainglorious. In the first round of combat, I need to spend a Standard action delivering a speech to my enemies. Considering how that character went out, it fits. 

For my final choice I went with Stargazer. This wasn’t based on established lore, but I liked how the Hang-Up (suffering a Snag on Smarts-based Skill Tests when you can’t see the stars) fit a starship. It gives a feeling of claustrophobia to a character used to the vastness of space. 

Role

Scout (Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

I have never struggled to choose a Role this much. It makes sense, though. I’m basing this build on a piece of equipment rather than a character. The Millennium Falcon’s role in Star Wars is transport. I considered going with the Spirit of Magic, taking the opportunity to show off the rules for swapping a My Little Pony Role’s Faction. But then I found a Role Perk that was straight out of Empire Strikes Back: Hidden In Plain Sight. This Scout Role Perk allows me to hide without cover, like the Millennium Falcon docking on the side of a Star Destroyer to get away from him. 

Scout is a great Role for the embodiment of the fastest ship in the fleet. As the Role’s designer, I’m particularly proud of how Ally Awareness lets a Scout do the Role’s job—going ahead of everyone—while remaining connected to the rest of the group. 

Most of the other Role Perks are either about being fast, observant, or bold. Those boldness Perks add a little Han Solo to our build. That scoundrel took credit for all of My Lennium Falcorn’s best ideas and smoothest moves. 

Sub Rules

Outrider Focus, Autobot Faction, Transformers Setting

The Scout may be fast, but it could be faster. The Outrider Focus ups the speed and maneuverability of the build. And yes, it’s my fault that there’s an Outrider Origin and an Outrider Focus in the same book. In hindsight, I think the Origin should be called Offroader. 

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 7

I focused on Driving and Infiltration for this build, giving them three Ranks each. There’s an Air Specialization in the near future, for sure. My last Skill Point went into Initiative. Originally I was thinking of taking Targeting as well, but I decided on a different form of ranged attacks. 

Smarts 5

I like the idea that this is a pretty smart character. Normally how much to invest in Alertness is a struggle when I don’t know what Skills the rest of my party invested in, but Alertness is an important aspect of the Scout Role. So much so, I only needed two Ranks for now, since the Role gives me Acute Sense and Stargazer lets me give myself an Edge on a Smarts-based Skill Test. 

I also invested in two Survival Ranks. It’s one of the Skills that Traveler pings off, and isn’t a Skill others tend to invest in without reason. It also feels like learning through doing, whereas Science is learning through research. This is a character that’s seen and done things, and has the Survival Ranks to show for it. 

Where’s the fifth Skill Point go? Spellcasting. I split two Ranks in Spellcasting between Smarts and Social. This will fuel an Energy Beam and Summon Shield. Only having +d4 in Spellcasting will mean choosing between offense or defense and having to find other options while my systems recharge, all of which feels very Millennium Falcon. 

Strength 2

Predictably, I put my Strength Skill Points into Might. Sometimes you gotta throw hoofs. 

Social 2

Even though I took a few options to represent L3-37’s onboard gumption, none of it was tied to any Social Skill. I only invested in one Rank of Deception, for when My Lennium Falcorn needs to fly casual-like. As long as I bump that up by 9th level to make better use of Mimicry Vocoder, this should hopefully be enough. Scout’s Social goes up pretty quickly, so I can alternate between improving Deception and Spellcasting.

Conclusion

I think this is a fun experiment in stretching the rules to fit a weird concept. I do feel that not having a stronger grasp on what I wanted from this build beyond Millennium Falcon/Unicorn Transformer made some choices tougher and a bit bland in a few areas. I referenced L3-37 multiple times, a part of The Millennium Falcon’s canon I didn’t expect to invoke at all, because I needed to find some personality for the character. 

Still, it’s nice to check this build off the idea list. And even if I’m not as excited about it as I have been other characters, I still think it’s an effective build and I am happy that Cybertronian Equestrian works as advertised. 

Resources

Field Guide to Action & Adventure

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Across the Stars

Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive

Gen Con Worlds Collide: The Pony Puzzle Event – Character Preparations blog post

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

I love the sidebars Paizo authors and developers work now into every book, especially every Lost Omens tome. The first sidebar of the book is entitled Sharing Our Stories. It’s the quote above. And as I hopefully respectfully called out in my previous article, the Tian Xia World Guide is thankfully a book of numerous contributors sharing their cultures with us. There’s a lot to learn about Tian Xia in this book and, because of the inspirations, our own planet as well. I wish people had the same respect and eagerness to learn and explore. I try to as well, and that goes for the Lost Omens lore here in this guide with great opportunity for adventure and gaming. I couldn’t do just one article on Tian Xia after all!

The Age of Dragons section in History came after the warring of celestial and qlippoth, the Age of Monsters. Here dragons were charged by the goddess Shizuru with a sacred duty. If yaoguai were allowed to continue rampaging and their wars draw on, Tian Xia would be a desolate wasteland. I learned yaoguai is a Chinese term for evil, strange, alien monsters. We might associate demon to it, but for the dragons and Shizuru it was the extraplanar beings bring ruin to the world. Thus the dragons were to prepare the continent for the coming of the lands’ people: humanity. They’d arrive in 10,000 years and the dragons would guard them for 10,000 more. So the dragons took this on, gaining the collaboration of those active celestials to stop yaoguai lords and sealing away the stronger ones. Humanity eventually did come and it’s noted that first they came from Azlant – which we’re familiar with – but first they came from Sarusan. I wasn’t aware Tian Xia’s population was said to have primarily traveled to it.

I know very little of Sarusan but that’s most players and GMs I think. It’s the smallest continent south of Tian Xia. I do know of it as the place where those who visit find their memory of it wiped, missing, or taken. The Pathfinder wiki mentions a scattering of details like a land bridge (mentioned in the same Age of Dragons section) that once existed between Sarusan and Tian Xia. The Gods allegedly destroyed an empire there called Taumata but this section clarifies it was lost due to the rising waters of Earthfall. Was it serpentfolk as apparently there were obelisks of that nature visible to those who could remember seeing them there? While Paizo’s great for setting up mysteries for GMs to establish the why (like Aroden’s death/disappearance), I wonder if Sarusan will always stay the partial mystery. Unfortunately the descendants of Sarusan and Azlant who became the people of Tian Xia didn’t get quite the full protection and support of the dragons. Some meddled too deeply and others took outright rulership of empires. The land was changing quickly as these powerful dragons perished, becoming mountains, volcanoes, huge swaths of forest, or even precious metals like gold or fast moving waterways. Thus humanity was isolated, struggling.

Starting right at the beginning of the Religion chapter and appearing through the book, we get lovely sidebars with Pronunciation guides. First it’s to nearly pronounce the deities’ names phonetically and at least have those that hear appreciate you’re trying. I appreciate that from a general reader’s standpoint who can’t speak any Asia-Pacific languages. My friend recently visiting can speak Japanese quite well, but he noted it’s far from perfect and he’s been living in Japan for over a decade, speaking it every day. It was truly grand to hear him translating words and lovely to see him have to pause to think of the English word for something. Japanese was now the first thing he went to. He was so thrilled to visit Japan and I’m thrilled he has a wonderful life and family there! But yes, what it reminded me of as I went through the book, is that perfection isn’t required but respecting and trying (take the time to learn) is. Later in the book, we get pronunciation guides for major cities, groups, and prominent individuals. Thank you to all those who took the time to put that together for us.

Also in the Religion chapter, I was fascinated to learn more about the Celestial Court. The section starts noting technically anyone can become a deity or immortal. There’s many ways from alchemy to amassing power to reaching spiritual enlightenment. In this case Shizuru formed this initial organization of divine powers to help bring some order to the chaos, partially to help bring order to the mortal world. Depending on how you reached enlightenment, you likely were granted tasks based on your ascension. The write-up notes it as a meritocracy though it’s noted some rebel and also your activities are tracked. Go too far, act without wisdom in revealing your power, cause destruction and you’ll get the ire of the others. I think that’s fair as even a sliver of divine power could be too much for the common individual working day to day. There’s ample examples of why this could go badly, and I think it also speaks to why major heroes can’t get involved in everything. Why are the former PCs from Sandpoint not swooping in to help even though they’ve got Mythic abilities? Well it would draw unnecessary attention, create religions unintentionally, etc. So it’s the same for the Celestial Court. However, I do find the idea that this court takes highly detailed notes, resulting in a grand record of society, history, politics, science… magic? Is it recorded what happened to Aroden, hm? I sense a great opportunity for an adventure where one might have to get access to or protect these records. There’s also a favor and promise exchange that could lead to hijinx or trouble. There’s one page here on the Celestial Court but it’s all lore and it’s a very valuable read. 

I’ll also mention that many of the deities listed have reference to the forthcoming Divine Mysteries and some to Player Core 2. Domains like change, duty, glyph, plague, repose and spells like animal vision, blanket of stars, feast of ashes, and penumbral shroud. I noticed as I read through each god and the Lady of the North Star further caught my attention. Her name is lost to time and apparently Pharasma’s faithful help scrub her name from history. I guess they are allies because she takes pity on those who are suffering incurable curses and other ailments. Her areas of concern include immortality and I wonder if she was actually mortal long ago. She at least visited as a mortal – stories say – but maybe it’s when she was mortal? She has a nine-part secret, hidden, mysterious ritual that allows one to gain immortality. I’m not sure I’d like that form of immortality though as it requires you to dwell in darkness beyond the stars to the North where it’s so cold even the “wheels of time” are frozen. If Zon-Kuthon taught me anything, it’s not to go venturing beyond the stars. This whole secret goddess with a path to immortality in 9 stages sure reeks of an adventure path to me!

I mentioned Chue Ye, a land dominated by dangerous Oni, in my last article. Obviously it’s more than just a dangerous place. I found the cultural section particularly interesting. It starts with a discussion of the Oni and that they measure their own self-worth through their own accomplishment, caring little for the gods’s opinions who punished them “for failures beyond their control.” You might have heard/read that Oni are no longer considered Fiends after the Remaster. They’re still giant humanoids, yes, but fiends they are not. They are former kami, nature spirits that suffered some great trauma. So many Oni, especially in Chue Ye, are not only spirits in a state of perpetual trauma but also feel abandoned and punished. At least in Chue Ye they’fe started to develop a new social structure and thus decided on rulership over destruction, murder, or “wanton slaughter.” There’s some opportunity there I think, and I love the new positioning. Meanwhile the Human section speaks to the invention of acupuncture in Chue Ye and the study of qi, both originating in this country. While humans are generally suffering and have little, their studies went with those who fled Chue Ye but also were granted to Samsarans so the knowledge would not be lost. That section – Kitsune and Samsarans – speaks to the preservation of culture through the past life knowledge. Meanwhile some Kitsune have begun worshiping Fumeiyoshi – god of envy – and gain the ability to take an Oni form if they slay an Oni who displeased the god. More corruptive and damaging spiritual evidence is clearly visible here. Some kitsune use the ability to help rebel groups but others are fully becoming Oni. Makes me interested in exploring this region even more. I love the diversity this adds to those ancestries, really showing the cultural and societal changes for Oni and Kitsune alike.

I’d heard that Goka was inspired by Hong Kong and reading through, I can see why. It’s perhaps bigger than Absalom, founded by an Abadarite named Xhai Xen Ciao. I also learned from the Paizo Blog article featuring the authors, which went live the day of my last article, that it was Tan Shao Han who wrote the area of Songbai as well as this section. Definitely check out this bsky thread on things they noted, changed from 1E, etc! Goka’s a huge bustling port with many different forms of commerce. Trade might be one of them with ships sailing in and out for/from every continent but there’s fishing, farming, skyscrapers of business, construction, urban growth and renewal, gambling casino, and of course entertainment. You might find a storyteller or singer on the street corner, or perhaps you’re going to an all-male band – boy band inspired clearly – termed beautiful garden. They sing and dance and there’s some groups with fame all across the world. There’s a smaller, more intimate form called goyao, which appears to translate to “go want” (thanks Google, maybe) but also possibly adventurer. Want dinner and a show? Well Gokoa is also known for casual dining and street-side shops. Go to a coffee shop known as kopi-tiams, finding snacks from across Golarion or grab a larger meal and sit street-side with the hustling and bustling mixture of locals and visitors. I’ll note however that apparently sparkle tea (bubble and boba tea) is the rage with jellied fruit, chewy tapioca parts, etc. Of course recent events in Goka include the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix adventure path and the ramifications of Hao Jin’s tournament. Hao Jin is still present and active – unless that’s different from your playthrough – though feeling a little down by the looks of it. I want to meet and learn more of this “sharp-witted, self-assured” comb-spirit named Bao Ting. Yep, a comb spirit that is Hao Jin’s oldest friend.

Meanwhile, things in Lingshen are wild. It’s a nation with a mighty military history, which grew after the former Lung Wa empire fell. But things have been changing, albeit not for great reasons. There’s a state of detente, which I did not know what that even meant. Apparently detente means the eating of hostility or strained relations, usually in context of politics or between different countries. It’s noted because Lingshen continues to heavily train and develop its military, but why? The former King Shixin is dead and his 11 remaining children aren’t so much ruling together, but fighting one another, which the former King had encouraged to encourage strength in them. Well that’s not going to do well for the country as they create friction for their people and no single leader can truly step up. Meanwhile and this may be a spoiler if you’re a player, but… the King had a whole plan to get his mind transferred to a construct using Sun Orchid Elixir. He also set up an impossible task to lift a keystone from a pedestal to prove one was the rightful leader of Lingshen. Well, impossible for any mortal, but a magical construct? Sure! It’s giving automaton vibes though there’s a note the process maybe has corrupted the King’s mental state… And that’s all from the first page, everyone! We get details on all the kids, including the young ones either a struggle to protect or being manipulated by others. I suspect we’ll learn more about Li Mingxian, a scientist whose work has been turned into military innovations so they undermine and work with other nations like Goka and Songbai. This nation’s really in trouble.

If I had to choose anywhere to send characters, it’d be the Forest of Spirits. This area is north of Minkai (considered part of that nation), both feared and honored, filled with mystery kami, those nature spirits. While many consider it haunted and there’s no traditional settlements within, there’s still much life and magic alive in the dense woods. Technically there’s a traveling road with a few small villages along the southwestern coast, abutting the forest. People know better than to threaten nature and anger the spirits; they’ve made agreements with the kami as such. The important part is – like with anyone or anything – to treat it with respect. There’s even an old temple to a fallen samurai who learned this the hard way. Still people will come to learn and explore like some traveling spiritualist, but also those seeking gain. Locals aren’t amused but some are enjoying the new interest financially anyway. Maybe there’s a secret village or two, but I won’t give those away! I’d just want to marvel at the majesty of it all. The art alone (see below) is wonderous. Traveling along the Spirit Road on that southern border you can meet spirits of the things discarded along it or into the forest, an old tradition from past generations resulting in many abandoned items. Further in, maybe I could catch some of the spirits dancing and join in. Maybe I’d witness a bit of divine power to Desna or Sun Wukong. Remember to respect the moths by the way… Insects are part of nature after all! Too far north and you might enter Chinmoku where the restless dead wander. There’s apparently an area on the Aokori Gulf where five massive skulls mark a sacred spot where you can request aid and others celebrate the changing of seasons, even as whatever spirits guard that area watch the sea. A great location to send adventurers seeking special help in their quest!

I really wanted to go into Shenmen, but with the recent Season of Ghosts adventure path, I won’t give anything away except well… it’s based there! The only warning I’ll give is a content warning for spiders! There’s so much more to the Tian Xia World Guide to learn and explore than I can put into words. Thankfully all the authors have done so, with inspiring images by the artists to help. You most certainly should invest in the lore and every detail of this book. What’s your favorite detail? What’s been happening in Tian Xia for a long time that you’re just now learning? What real-world aspect has been brought to life in Golarion that you recognize? Let me know as you learn about Tian Xia!

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Tian Xia World Guide cover, Paizo, art by Ekaterina Gordeeva

1. Sharing Our Stories sidebar, Introduction, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
2. Alley Basher image, Goka, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo, art by by Sandra Posada
3. Test of Fate, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo, art by Maichol Quinto
4. Chu Ye banner, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
5. Empress Nai Yan Fei, Goka, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo, art by Vira Linevych
6. Hao Jin, Tales of Lost Omen: Rebirth blog, Paizo, art by Vladislav Orlowski
7. Huang Shixin, pretty bad father from Lingshen, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
8. Forest of Spirits banner, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Danielle Reynolds – Guest

Amanda Rivera – Host

Listen Now! (mp3)

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Listen Now!(mp3)

Listen Now! (mp3)

For those who don’t know, I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting. 

You’d think I’d be in an Essence20 game by now, but I’ve been too busy writing on it, podcasting about it, and blogging builds for it to play the game. But since everything is content, I figured I’d turn character creation—which already follows the Essential Builds format—into my latest build. 

Who Is Scaffold?

Oh wow, instead of providing context and referencing pop culture, this time this section is just “let me tell you about my character”. 

Options are limited when aircraft sustain structural damage. Pilots are trained to deal with the situation by minimizing casualties on emergency landing. Aeronautic engineers, on the other hand, strap on a VTOL pack and fix the problem at the source. Not content to be brushed off as a youth when asking how planes stay in the air, Scaffold took up aeronautics as a hobby. He built a drone that was basically a flying toolbox, and then he used that drone to help him build and field test a propulsion back. He worked as a lighting technician at the Seattle stadium until his handcrafted flying devices caught the attention of the city’s biggest aerospace companies. 

Out of the few engineers with the technical skills to repair bullet holes in an airborne aircraft engine, most of them couldn’t handle the pressure or the noise outside in the stratosphere. Those are Scaffold’s favorite parts! He wears kinetic body armor as pajamas and uses an old 747 engine as a white noise machine. Hanging off the side of a crashing plane is relaxing to him. 

Building Essence20 Scaffold

For the record, this campaign takes place in The Energon Universe, and the GM has given us permission to use any Essence20 options, including magic. Hopefully I’m not squandering that freedom by only tapping into a few sourcebooks, all G.I. JOE.

When I build a PC, I tend to blend steps 1-5 (as described in the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook) into three amorphous steps:

Step 1. All the ideas and options that come to me at once. 

Step 2. A few other ideas that are either logically connected or obviously compatible. 

Step 3. The rest. 

In this case, I came up with the concept, Role, and Focus right away. I’ve talked about liking jetpacks and visors before, so the idea of playing a tech specialist with a jetpack came to me as soon as I asked myself what character do I want to play. But why would a tech specialist have a jetpack? To answer that, I took inspiration from my cousin’s husband Jack, an aquatic engineer who does underwater maintenance on rigs. My PC repairs damaged airplanes while they’re still airborne. Exciting, unique, and justifies a jetpack. It’s perfect. 

When I floated the idea past my group, one of the other players suggested my character be from Seattle, home of most major aerospace companies. Works for me. Thanks to my many trips to PaizoCon, I know the Seattle area enough to fake being from there. 

I wasn’t exactly sure about the other elements of my build, but with Quartermaster’s Guide To Gear now available, I knew where I would get the rest of my options. 

Role

Technician (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Unlike the last time I used the Rocketeer Focus, I’m not using the Field Guide to Action & Adventure to swap out my Role. I’m embracing my Technician roots, fully, gaining a utility drone named BTHIANNI TNIANHI, because it’s Better To Have It And Not Need It Than Need It And Not Have It. 

Focus

Rocketeer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex)

Not sure what else there is to say about the Rocketeer Focus than what I already said in my Rocketeer build. Has jetpack, will jetpack. To jetpack or not to jetpack is not the question because to not jetpack is not an option. 

Bonus, our campaign starts at 3rd level, so I get Aerial Attack from char gen. That’s the Focus Perk that lets me attack with Acrobatics or Driving whenever I use my jet pack to move. And, as established, I’ll be jet packing as often as possible. 

Origin

Engineer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Well how about that, this is my first use of the Engineer Origin. 

I have mixed feelings about Engineer. Thematically, it’s great, and definitely deserves to be in the CRB. And most of the mechanics work. My issue is the Origin Benefit, MacGyver. It reads like it was written early in the design process, and accidentally skipped during development, because its language does not reflect Essence20 mechanics. Normally I don’t quote rules verbatim, but in this case I think it’s a teaching opportunity.  

“You aren’t hampered by not having tools – you’ve fixed delicate machines with duct tape, chewing gum, paper clips, and even less. In addition, as an action, you can fix or hamper a machine for one scene, after which it will need an in-depth repair. For vehicles and equipment with the capacity for taking damage, you may heal it for 1 Health.”

The “In addition” implies that everything before is rules text, not flavour as I originally assumed. “…as an action” is probably a Standard action, but it’s weird that it doesn’t say so. “…you can fix or hamper a machine for one scene, after which it will need an in-depth repair.” is my biggest issue. Does “fix” mean repair? What does “hamper” mean? What are the mechanical effects of hampering equipment? 

I give a modified version of MacGyver to pregens I build with the Engineer Origin, which I’ve added to the internal errata as a suggestion for future printings: 

MacGyver: You aren’t hampered by not having tools. Ignore Kit requirements for Skill Tests. Additionally, once per scene, as a Standard action, you can repair 1 damage on a vehicle or robot.

You can see how it takes the ideas of the published version and modifies the language to fit the rules. I dropped the “hamper” element completely because the above feels like enough, and dropped the idea that fixing the machine only lasts for the scene to make the use straightforward. 

Influences

1st Rocket Scientist (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear)

2nd Skyward (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster Guide To Gear)

Two Influences from the latest release for the G.I. JOE RPG! 

Rocket Scientist is literal. You work on rockets, scientifically. It lets us gain an Edge on a Science or Technology Skill Test outside of combat. We’re going with Technology (Engineering), naturally. 

Skyward is for characters who hate when their feet are any closer than a kilometer to the ground. It gives us Air vehicle Qualification (in case we didn’t already have it) and lets us identify the Speed Essence and Movement Ratings of an aircraft just by looking at it. As a Hang-Up, we suffer ↓1 on Driving Skill Tests to operate land and sea vehicles. 

Essence Scores and Skills

I’m building a 3rd level character, so my Essence Scores will total 18 this time, not the usual 1st level 16. 

Smarts 6

As expected, my highest Skill is Technology, with an Engineering Specialization. I invested 5 Skill Points to get a +d8* Rank. This allows me to fulfill my primary function, and also gives my drone 5 Essence Score increases and a bunch of Upgrades. 

I also threw a Skill Point into Alertness. Our GM requested we not go over the details of our builds, so I want to make sure we’re not collectively blind, even if my +d2 won’t get us very far. 

Speed 5

Also predictable, my second highest Skill is Driving with +d6 Rank and Air Specialization. I didn’t give myself any targeting, so I’m relying on moving and shooting to take advantage of Aerial Acrobatics. 

I gave myself +d2 Rank in Initiative. I often skip Initiative on this blog because it’s not a flavourful Skill, but given that I didn’t skip it for a PC I will be playing, maybe I should treat +d2 Initiative as a baseline for all combat characters. 

Strength 4

Speaking of baseline, I gave myself a few Strength Skills mostly because they come in handy: Athletics +d4, for any physical situation that a jet pack doesn’t help with; +d2 Brawn, because that helps meet weapon prereqs, and +d2 Might, because I figure if I can’t fly in combat, it’s more likely that I’m in a fist fight than a fire fight. 

Social 3

+d6 Persuasion might make me the face of the group. We’ll see. I didn’t have a clear idea for my Social Skills, but I figure someone who jumps out of planes needs to be convincing. 

Drone

Rounding out our build is BTHIANNI TNIANHI, the Limited Drone pet we get from the Primary Tech Technician Perk. First we set its Mobility (30ft Aerial, so it can keep up with us), then its size (I went with Small, just cause), and function. 

Here’s where I hit a crossroads. My plan was for BTHIANNI TNIANHI to be Scaffold’s toolbox. But MacGyver lets us ignore Kit requirements for Skill Tests. So instead my options are to make BTHIANNI TNIANHI some other kind of utility drone, or make it an attack drone. If the team didn’t have a medic, I would consider making it a Science (Medicine) drone. I guess we’re going attack drone. It can serve as Scaffold’s bodyguard, fulfilling its BTHIANNI TNIANHI name in a different way. 

As the Limited Drone of a character with 5 Skill Points invested into Technology, that gives me 11 Skill Points (1 per Essence Score, 2 free, and 1 per Skill Point my PC invested into Technology). I put 4 ranks into Alertness and 4 into Targeting, two areas Scaffold character could use support. Then 1 rank into Conditioning, for survivability, 1 into Initiative to qualify for the Independence Protocol upgrade, and finally 1 in Deception, because you can’t trust A.I.! 

Speaking of upgrades, I went pretty classic and complimentary to his purpose. Basic Defenses increases Defenses, Enhanced Sensors gives the Acute Senses General Perk, and Independence Protocol lets it roll its own initiative. I splurged on a Limited upgrade and grabbed Shield Drone, which gives Scaffold a bonus to Evasion. 

Conclusion

It’s not lost on me that my PC is more straightforward and practical than most of my builds. I don’t intentionally make my other builds impractical. In fact, I’m often surprised by how effective some of them turn out to be. I guess when my starting point is a character with history and media appearances that I want to emulate, it’s easier to see how some unusual options end up defining what the build can do. 

That said, I look forward to seeing this build in action. 

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Cobra Codex

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Quartermaster’s Guide To Gear

Tian Xia can’t be summed up in a single book; no land can.”¹

It’s the truth. Despite the 299 pages (before glossary) of the Tian Xia World Guide, the newest Lost Omens release from Paizo, there’s still clearly so much to this continent of Golarion. Much like the Mwangi Expanse (June 2021), Impossible Lands (November 2022), and High Helm (June 2023), this release shows rather than tells that there’s far more than could ever be summed up in one book. Yes, we learn of the countries, the geographies, the actual lands of Tian Xia, but it’s the history of these peoples and their cultures that are brought to light in vibrant ways. With thanks in mind, I do wish I could cover this entire book, every section but I can’t while doing it justice anyway. Next article will do some deeper lore dive, so let’s take a review of all that’s been created and shared with us.

I’ll note too, we want to remember to be respectful. I’m just a cis white guy over here enjoying the amazing creativity and storytelling (as well as the fab art), and I say that because Tian Xia was made to celebrate cultures and communities I’m not a part of. There’s a learning aspect as we honor what’s being shared with us. Many of these creators are bringing their history, their culture, their traditions to us. Thus, it’s important before we play with that bounty brought to us in this book (or any of the cultural tomes of Lost Omens) that we take a moment to do some research into real-world inspirations. I truly do love and am thankful for the way this is done with Paizo books. For me, I’ve long seen myself in media, fantasy, literature, on TV… Again, white dude. But the moment I started to see gay men and LGBTQIA+ friend groups, especially of diversity (and again, not just white gay dudes), I felt encouraged and excited. Surely, others must feel this way and I hope the Lost Omens line continues to do that for others.

Amazing Authors & Artists

That’s why I’m thrilled to see those involved in the book right there on the Table of Contents contributors sidebar! Michael Sayre and James Case are the designers, with James at the lead. Luis Loza, Landon Winkle, and Eleanor Ferron are the developers with Eleanor at the lead. And take a look at that author list and the artists! Please take some time to go learn of these individuals. I started with the first name. Eren Ahn (they/them) is Korean-American who (and I love how they phrased this) “loves to use science fiction, fantasy, and horror to poorly mask their thoughts on various social issues, including but not limited to colonialism, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial injustice.”² How can you not be excited to see what they’ve shared with us through the bountiful playground of Golarion? I hope I can learn what they wrote; maybe they’ll see this and let me know. Because of twitter (yeah I’m still on there while the gaming community remains) I’ve caught a few as they were shared by James or Luis. Jeremy Blun – who we’ve had on the podcast before – wrote the nation of Linvarre and more, like turning Desna into Mothra (see tweet) but let’s touch on that later! I don’t know when I first learned of Banana Chan (she/they/he) – Kids on Bikes maybe? – but I grinned seeing them listed. Also on twitter, I found Connie Chang (they/he/she) wrote Quain. The dance martial arts mix really got my attention and so did this PbtA-inspire game they’re working on called Godkiller! Thrilled to see Dana Ebert (she/her) doing more. You may recall me gushing over Material Changes in the Grand Bazaar. Viditya Voleti (he/him) has a number of games up on itch.io; I want to play Apprentice Quest about freshmen wizards at college. Our own John Godek III is in there too. I might have to do another article just on what all these fab people are doing as there’s so many fine authors; I encourage you to invest some time in learning about them too! EDIT: Check out today’s Paizo blog post to hear from some of the authors!

On the art side, Ekaterina Gordeeva has returned for the cover like they’ve done for many of the Lost Omens books. There’s many fine artists for the interior. But did you see this? Gunship Revolution. Specifically Mico Dimagiba, Patsy Lascano, Adelijah Ocampo, Luisa Odulio, Hinchel Or, and Brian Valeza are noted as part of this group. Check out their site; they’ve basically worked with most big names I could think of. Previously I haven’t seen individual attributions for Gunship, so I’m glad that’s done here even if it’s not for the specific art. Eventually I know we can go searching and usually find who did what from artstation and the like; I understand individual attribution of authors and artists would be a ton of work. Certainly as a whole, the art in the Tian Xia World Guide is beautiful and inspiring. I’m so thankful for the continent map too! Do let me know if you are or know who the artist is for any images featured here please!

Learning About Tian Xia

Starting with the Introduction I love this Five Tips for Tian Xia section! It dispels some classic tropes like Celestials aren’t always good. Alignment’s gone y’all and holy doesn’t mean good (have you seen Hazbin Hotel?). Appearances can deceiving should be something we all understand but the call out of shapeshifters like kitsune and the goblin dokkaebi might be tricking you. Spirits are real, vibrant, and able to called by some. There’s a whole philosophy about them Ill note later. Dragons aren’t monsters but people, individuals that have been guardians and rulers. Diplomacy not hostility folks! And last, the dead are never truly gone. They’re with us in my opinion and in Tian Xia too. Your ancestors may have been judged by Pharasma, but they didn’t go on to their final reward. Reincarnation is real. This is another philosophy we’ll see later.

The History section is of course full of lore! The Age of Monsters saw kaiju running over the land while the extremely tall Valashai took over the so-named now jungle area of southern Tian Xia. Qlippoth and celestials warred but eventually came the dragons, literally the Age of Dragons, setting up the society we’d see going forward. Earthfall is known as the Age of Ashes (not to be confused with the so-named adventure path) as sea levels rose, greatly changing the continent. Entire empires fell, draconic or humanoid alike. More recent events go on to be detailed with a full sidebar across the seven pages of historical information. The events of the Jade Regent and Ruby Phoenix Tournament are noted, along with their ramifications. Even Ironfang Legion is detailed as Oprak creates diplomatic relations on the continent. I highly encourage any GM to read carefully through the history in order to know better this region and to understand the journeys of its cultures before running any Tian Xia based game. It’s useful information for any PC with an origin there as well, of course.

Tian Xia calls out that dragons are people, rulers and guardians, and there’s an entire Age of their influence. Thus, it’s no surprise there’s an Imperial Dragons chapter introducing us to the role various types of dragons play and some major names. I’m a little shocked that Valashinaz isn’t called out as an Underworld dragon considering their vault, but maybe that’s just because I want more Purepurin. There is a Pathfinder Society scenario for such called Equal Exchanges – Necessary Introductions for that though! I admit being particularly fascinated with the Forest Dragons, maybe because I’m compelled toward visiting forests, but I like that they are natural guardians who are losing ground and may threaten Tian Xia settlements for the sake of nature. Arindham (above) looks rather threatening, but awesome! Luong Phung the sea dragon sounded so cool that I hoped for art of them. How thrilled was I to see such included in the Xidao and Oceans chapter. This book really gives and gives!

A chapter on Factions tells of various groups active throughout Tian Xia. Love that we get our pirate group the Ante, much like the Shackles. The admiral is a ghost who only appears in a storm, which I find interesting considering the storm off the Shackles used to prove one’s mettle. I guess pirates and storms go well together, or is there some sort of blessing on the Admiral by Gozreh? Curse? I’m also very interested in the Way of the Kirin. Here’s a group that was THE good folks of righteous ijndividuals challenging corruption and unified along many avenues. Now it’s in disarray with varied, occasional squadrons and far less organized. Seems a great opportunity for a PC Champion or someone who had a teacher following the Kirin’s ways. Granted the Veils are also interesting with their hoarding of magic, technology, artifacts, and secrets. They think them too dangerous, but are they? The vaults are in Valashmai and we know that area is ancient in its development thanks to the History section. Some great adventures could be had in that jungle, especially defending a vault or needing something from one desperately! If you’re like “wow there’s so much in this book” then yes, you’re right. We’ve only discussed the first 20 pages!

To Temple & School

Religion starts with a general treatise (one page) of the religious tendancies of all those who dwell in Tian Xia. There’s holidays, a pronunciation guide, and also a reference to the recently announced Pathfinder Lost Omens Divine Mysteries! Apparently Hei Feng, Irori, and a few others will have more details there. I’m excited by that cover and the announcement that Arazni will be in the primary pantheon group. It’s about time. Anyway, back to Tian Xia, there’s some mention too of typical shrines and temples but overall how the people of Tian Xia are very much “polytheistic, but also syncretic and pragmatic.” Syncretic’s a new word for me, meaning characterized or brought about by a combination of different beliefs or practices. There’s a great depth of diversity in Tian Xia, made clear by the numerous deities listed. First, the authors take us through the Creation Myths of the continent starting with one featuring a giant dragon egg made of chaos floating out in the universe. One deity I was excited to see is Daikitsu, Lady of Foxes (above), a good-natured if mercurial being with special veneration in Tian Xia’s pantheon due to her fostering agriculture and craftsmanship, important to a civilized society. “To Daikitsu, a beautiful world is one that flourishes.” I love how broad that is. Not the individual. Not the empire. The world. I’m glad kitsune take inspiration from her; perhaps there’s hope for others yet. Shizuru and Tsukiyo I only learned about recently. The former is the god of the sun while the latter is the god of the moon, who was returned from death by his lover Shizuru. Of course there’s family squabbles even in the deities and it was Tsukiyo’s brother Fumeiyoshi, lord of envy, who killed his younger brother perhaps out of jealousy, perhaps because of Tsukiyo selfishly hoarding Shizuru’s light. If you get a chance to ask them, let me know. There’s many more to speak of but I had to call out that Jeremy Blun (author) did indeed get to make Giant Mothra Desna (below). In Tian Xia, Desna is often associated with the silks harvested from silk-producing moths by temple monks, weaving the silk into garments. Hence she is often depicted as a giant moth! An amazingly cool bit of lore to add for her, thanks Jeremy!

I really was intrigued seeing the Philosophies chapter and love its addition. It follows Religion but it’s not about religion. This section details a number of “ancient schools of thought” that have survived the ages with various peoples across Tian Xia. They’re a mix of beliefs, how to approach the world, and an understanding of how the world works in general. It’s not an organized system, so even certain schools of thought can vary between countries or even individuals. I think this is a great add because some players try to express how their characters feel/interact with the world without it being a religious item. As an example the Teachings of the River is also called Sangpotshi and believes in a mingling of souls in death, flowing along the River of Souls until they are reborn but over time those souls can grow and eventually have reached a point of no longer needing to go through a mortal existence to grow. Meanwhile the Way Spirits focuses on all things having a spiritual representation; they can become sentient and develop their own minds. That seems to mesh well with an Animist’s point of view. I like that it’s a focus on honoring all spirits, giving them respect with a point of nature being a primary representation and how many spirits awaken. I love that philosophy!

A short two pages follows, a chapter titled Tests of Virtue. These are rituals of song, poem, and I think dance as well since Power of the Beasts includes an Athletics check. These are tests of virtue and will that grants benefits to the individual. That Power of the Beasts ritual (level 2) can grant you the Titan Wrestler feat after defeating an enemy two or more sizes larger than you, only one size if you critically succeed at the ritual but then it’s three enemies instead of one. But be warned, the moment you use weapons the benefits end. Perfection of Essence caught my attention (level 10) as it grants immortality or at least, you don’t age anymore. Similar to the Power of the Beasts, is the level 6 ritual called the Unseeing Blade Master (see above). Can you guess what that can grant you? Yep, the Blind-Fight feat. Of course you have to do the ritual, which requires Master Perception and then defeating 20 enemies with your sword, or one enemy that uses a sword if you critically succeed. Roll high my friends!

Many Lands to Visit

What follows are over 200 pages of Tian Xia regional information, covering numerous countries, forests, mountains, the oceans, and more like the Darklands. There’s also more than 20 pages of new Bestiary entries before the Glossary, and yet you still can’t sum all of Tian Xia up in one book. However, I will spotlight a few countries. Chue Ye is the land of the Oni, even if most of the population is human. Acupuncture began here, leading to a growth of culture favoring education, medicine, and kind-hearted individuals. Unfortunately corrupt nature spirits came from the Forest of Spirits to the north, imitated the humanoids living there, took advantage of the kindness, and took over the place. There’s the ruthless Shogan Tsuneni ruling over it and the dazzlingly beautiful (that art below) Inma fighting the Underworld dragon Zhulong, resulting in geographic and monstrous unrest! I feel for those people, but thankfully they’ve got the Mizu Ki Hikari resistance. Hopefully the five leaders can work together and secure that alliance with Zhulong. Sure sounds like an adventure path to me! Quick edit shout out to author Grady Wang of The Gallant Goblin (see tweet) who wrote this section. Thank you for the exciting nation and inspiration!

I did mention the Darklands and I have to mention it considering the connections to both Oprak and the elves traveling through it to Jinin. There’s the area called the Clicking Caverns, sitting on the border of nations Xa Hoi and Nagajor, and occasionally clockwork machinery comes shooting out on occasion. That might not be so bad but they’re haunted by the spirits of whatever civilization once lifted in the moving metropolis below called Pan Majang. Could the Jistka Imperium have gone that deep? Or maybe it’s Azlanti that went into the Darklands? Meanwhile General Azaersi of Oprak is using his Onyx Key artifact to connect his people to those of Kaoling for an alliance. Well turns out beneath there was the hobgoblin nation of Rahk Lo who are far friendlier with all humanoids. They’re focused on survival, so collaboration and diplomacy are far more important than warfare. There’s even non-hobgoblin citizens in Rahk Lo, so it’s likely a great place for adventurers to find camaraderie and help fight the foul denizens of the Darklands!

Then there’s beautiful Hwanggot, the Kingdom of Flowers! Its people favor diplomacy and peace and while briefly part of Lung Wa’s tyranny, they’re now celebrating their independence again. What really grasped my attention are the adorable Dokkaebi (above), magical goblins who live there. They have “raucous celebrations” usually around harvest time. They create beautiful earthen pots called onggi, and people like to use them for fermenting food but also treat them as antiques, passing them down through family members. There’s an elder named Chanhee who is well known for her pottery but also for forging legendary blades that can banish spirit and fight fiends! Need your hero to go on a magical sword quest? Time to send them to Hwanggot, partake in a celebration, and impress Chanhee perhaps by rescuing some Dokkaebi from greedy merchants or thieves!

I mentioned Jinin, the forest homeland of elves who traveled through the Darklands after fleeing Earthfall. Here magic and mystery are preserved, as are a number of plants unseen since before Earthfall as they’re gardens are preserved by the elves who fled from Avistan’s surface, traveled through the darkness following the oracle Jininsiel, and emerged in Tian Xia. They followed a vein of dawnsilver and have since woven it into the stonework, their temples, their monuments, and interlaced with the flora they preserve. Elves may be a rare sight in Tian Xia, but their trade of dawnsilver i snot, funding much of the nation. Half-elves are common on the outskirts, and relatively treated like an equal though also like a human. Some of the depth of music and artistry these elves are known for is not shared as much as it could be. There’s a massive Silver Tree that is the center of their capital, Ayajinbo, and is a holy place, though not related to any particular deity. However, it’s worth noting the roots of the tree lead deep into the Darklands as it’s what led the elves to the location in the first place. Thus it must be heavily guarded and usually is. I can imagine an important diplomatic affair and elegant dance party that is interrupted by an attack!

Minkai is a large peninsula nation of relative peace and prosperity, but undergoing a fair amount of civil change since Empress Amatatsu Ameiko took over. Here we see the ramifications of the Jade Regent path as Ameiko has been on the throne for 10 years! Her desire to reduce samurai favorability and prestige, as well as make all who sought positions of power prove their qualifications through exams, postings of experience, haven’t made her incredibly favorable with the nobility. Indeed, some fled to other countries and now watch for weakness. But this badass bard is an Empress of the people, traveling amongst provinces and checking on her nation with a direct approach. She also has her kitsune allies close by including Miyaro who aided her in reclaiming the throne and her daughter Hisae who is the emissary monitoring internal and external threats to the nation, throne, the people. They’re looking for new candidates to help guide the nation including an investigator who specializes in supernatural occurrences and a kobold sorcerer that knows much of the land’s history, told through oral tradition. Having these popular leaders working together is wise, as those angry families who’ve left could prove a new issue for the Empress!

Finally I’ll bring up Xidao and the Oceans of Tian Xia, though there’s an Oceans chapter right after this one. Xidao is an alliance of over 50 city-states, aquatic ones! They’ve always venerated sea dragons like Luong Phung (see below) but what brought them together was the horde of monsters awakened by Earthfall and an undead army that grew as time passed. I love that the A Year In Xidao section breaks it up by the seasons including the Season of Storms (late summer into autumn), Season of Change (late autumn to spring), and the tranquil Season of Tranquility. There’s a big Festival of Arts, hosted by the Shelyn clergy. While the craftsmanship and performance contests are interesting, there’s also a big diplomatic meeting during that festival called the Convocation of the Grand Council. That also sounds like a perfect event to use in your adventures, or put square in an adventure path. Xidao is the nation of waters west of Minkai, so it’d be easy to tie some things together there!

Explore Tian Xia

I could go on and on because this book is a delight. Maybe you can’t sum any land up in one book, but wow do they try! I heavily encourage you to invest in the Tian Xia World Guide! Also, the news broke for the War of Immortals and the various tie-in products from the Godsrain event. Were you following the Godsrain Prophecies? I have to say, I did not think it would be Gorum that’s due to die, but the ramifications of having no deity holding the portfolio for war seems both a good thing at a meta level but also an exciting one for all those chasing to scoop up some of that power, especially in the wake of the Godsrain. I can’t wait to learn more, and next article will dig into some juicy lore bits from Tian Xia. I love these Lost Omens regional books.

And thus, in closing, I have to ask: Arcadia? Luis? Please?

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Tian Xia World Guide cover, Paizo, art by Ekaterina Gordeeva

1. Introduction excerpt, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
2. Xa Hoi chapter banner, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo, art by Luis Salas Lastra
3. who am I? excerpt, Eren Ahn website
4. Arindham, The Imperial Dragons chapter, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
5. Daikitsu, Religion chapter, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
6. Desna the Mothra, Religion chapter, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
7. Inma, Chu Ye chapter, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
8. Dokkaebi, Hwanggot chapter, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo
9. Minkai chapter banner, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo, art by Sammy Khalid
10. Luong Phung, Xidao and the Oceans of Tian Xia chapter, Tian Xia World Guide, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

Sen-Foong Lim – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Hello and welcome to Eldritch Excursion, the blog that got a little too close to mechanics and is now infested from the toes to the teeth with an abundance of flavor. Our last entry was an examination of my favorite monster, the bountiful broodmother that is the drakainia. With the potential to spawn entire societies in record time, it’s a wonder this entry in the Bestiary hasn’t earned its spot in some epic-length storyline. But even if you don’t want to use her as a near-deific  figure, she does make for an very memorable NPC. Even more memorable if the PCs are somehow tied to her aberrant lineage.

That’s right, this isn’t the second part of a duology, it’s the third part of a secret trilogy. It all comes back to those wholesome family values.

“What? He’s totally an elf! Or at least elf adjacent…”

Spawn of the Drakainia

Playing as a character that was spawned from this mythical mother figure is as easy as declaring as much upon character creation. But if you want to truly represent this fact in your character’s mechanics, then you have plenty of options. Staring with ancestry, the obvious consideration is my old favorite the fleshwarp. But if you want to try something that looks just familiar enough for the creepy stuff to really hit, then consider taking half elf or half orc as your heritage. This is also a wonderful excuse to slap the beastkin heritage on just about anything. Or heck, maybe being born from gene soup affected you way more than your siblings.

But what if you don’t want your ancestry to be the sign of your polymorphic parentage? Alternatively, what if you did pick a weird ancestry and you want to double down? Classes offer a fair share of options as well. Barbarians can choose the animal instinct to represent the complicated heritage they tap into. Oracles of the life mystery could have their mother to thank and also blame for their overabundance of vital energy. And of course, what better way to represent an unusual heritage than the sorcerer?

In fact, it’s such a good fit, we may as well have a proper bloodline just for the occasion.

New Bloodline: Drakainia
The blood of your fecund mother courses through your veins, and with far more potency than in your mutated siblings. You may seek to found your own dark fertility cult, rapidly creating spawn regardless of your ancestry or gender, or you may seek to cleanse the world of your more corrupted kin, up to and including your wicked matron.

Spell List occult
Bloodline Skills Medicine, Occultism
Granted Spells cantrip: stabilize, 1st: summon animal, 2nd: vomit swarm, 3rd: summon plant or fungus, 4th: rigid form, 5th: summon giant, 6th: field of life, 7th: regenerate, 8th: moment of renewal, 9th: overwhelming presence
Bloodline Spells initial: absorb summon, advanced: life pulse, greater: polymorphic parasite
Blood Magic volatile essence empowers all forms of life, massive and microscopic. Choose to have either you or a target of the spell gain temporary Hit Points equal to the spell’s level for 1 round, or to have a target of the spell take a -1 penalty to saves against diseases and poisons for 1 round.

Absorb Summon           Focus 1
[Uncommon] [Concentrate] [Manipulate] [Sorcerer] [Summon]
Bloodline drakainia
Cast (2 actions)
Range touch; Target one creature you conjured that has the summoned trait
Duration 10 minutes
Through magical dissipation or visceral consumption, you absorb one of your summoned creatures into yourself. The creature is reduced to a churning, protoplasmic goo that leaves a visible distortion somewhere on your body, most commonly around the abdomen. Time spent in this state does not count against the summon spell’s duration and it does require you take an action or actively concentrate to sustain it. As the summoned creature is part of your body, you may target it with spells that have a range of touch.
At any point during the spell’s duration, you may recast the summon spell that originally conjured the creature in order to draw out its essence. This reconstitutes the summon’s original form in an adjacent space. Doing so immediately ends this spell. If this spell’s duration runs out while the creature’s essence is still inside of you, the summon his harmlessly dispelled.
Heightened (4th) Increase the duration to 1 hour.

Life Pulse           Focus 3
[Uncommon] [Healing] [Manipulate] [Sorcerer] [Vitality]
Bloodline drakainia
Cast (2 actions)
Range 30 foot emanation
Saving Throw Fortitude
You release a pulse of vital energy, healing the living and damaging the undead. If the target is a living creature, you restore 3d4 Hit Points. If the target is undead, you deal that amount of vitality damage to it, and it gets a basic Fortitude save.
This vital energy also accelerates diseases as well as the body’s ability to process poisons. If a creature in the emanation is currently suffering from any diseases or poisons, each such affliction progress towards their next stage, allowing Fortitude saves as normal.
If any creature in the area is carrying spawn or some kind of parasite, its development progresses to the next phase, or by one season’s worth of time in the case of spawn that does not develop in phases.
Heightened (+1) Increase the healing by 1d4 Hit Points.

Polymorphic Parasite           Focus 5
[Uncommon] [Concentrate] [Manipulate] [Polymorph] [Sorcerer] [Summon]
Bloodline drakainia
Cast (2 actions)
Range 30 feet; Target one living corporeal creature
Saving Throw Fortitude
Duration sustained up to one minute
You disgorge a parasite that contains near infinite genetic potential and hurl it towards a foe. If the target fails a Fortitude save, the parasite burrows deep into their flesh and begins to gestate. While carrying the parasite, the target is sickened 1, or sicked 2 if they critically failed their save. They cannot reduce the value of this sicked below 1 by wretching.
At any point during the spell, you may decide to evolve the parasite by casting a summoning spell. Doing so counts as sustaining this spell, and instead of conjuring a new creature, it transforms the parasite into a copy of that summoned creature. This rapid transformation causes the parasite to burst free of their host and into the nearest open space, dealing 5d8 damage and 5 persistent bleed damage to their host on the way out.
Heightened (+1) Increase the damage by 1d8 Hit Points and the persistent bleed by 1.

Now then, with that vivid mental imagery lovingly transplanted into your brain, I think I’ll call it here. This should be more than enough to spawn (ha ha!) ideas for new characters, NPCs, and campaigns that want to delve into a volatile mix of intimacy and body horror. And please, dear God, remember to sort all of this out during session zero.

Come back next time and I’ll talk about something way less nightmare inducing. Probably.

Listen Now!(mp3)

Seven of them, in fact! Seven Dooms for Sandpoint is the latest adventure path from Paizo, bringing us back to those friendly yet dangerous streets we first traveled back in the very first adventure path Rise of the Runelords. In Burnt Offerings – nearly 17 years ago – James Jacobs introduced us to Sandpoint, to Thassilon, to runewells, to Lamashtu, and to the disastrous dangers that continued to befall this quaint town. Well, James is bringing us back because there’s new trouble in store for Mayor Kendra Deverin, Priest of Desna Abstalar Zantus, Brodert Quink, and of course those that gather at the Rusty Dragon. I thought I’d revisit Sandpoint as I reflect on this new adventure, but know there’s not any spoilers that aren’t obvious. As it turns out, there’s a malevolence manipulating events and bringing the tragedies down upon Sandpoint. Now it’s time for new heroes to step in and – hopefully – stop all seven of these dooms all while facing the politics and intrigue of the town that first cemented our love for Golarion and Pathfinder.

I mean it wouldn’t be much of a game if there weren’t dangers, right? We as Storytellers (GMs and Players alike!) want danger, conflict, intrigue in order to make the game fun. But you know, I didn’t realize how troubled Sandpoint was until I read through all that James had collected for the history (mmm Lore) and did a review myself. It’s been a rough time of it for Sandpoint and it’s about to get worse. Case in point note the sign art from the player’s guide above versus that of the path below, found in the first section. The Overview runs through the plot (the dooms!) at high level but again that Lore comes with a glossary and a wonderful timeline from Age of Creation to now. There’s mention of a 1E sourcebook I wasn’t aware of named Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast. Very useful if you’re a GM but possibly mild spoilers for players so best to only pick up if you’re running it. 

The origin of Sandpoint even starts tragically as the Scarnettis chose violence, leading to the Varisian Compact. I of course appreciate the call outs to previous paths like Nualia’s activities in 4707 that preceded the defeat of Karzoug by Rise’s adventurers. 4711 references Ameiko’s birthright from the Jade Regent path. A year later was Shattered Star and then eventually Return of the Runelords sees the rise of New Thassilon in 4718. Rise of the Runelords beckoned back to “The Late Unpleasantness.” That was the series of murders that happened 5 years before Rise and is tied into the events of Burnt Offerings along with Nualia’s activities. All of it comes up again in Seven Dooms, honoring all these published works with great respect and providing wonderful continuity for your players.

You know I love a good sidebar and the player’s guide and the main path both suggest the possibility of having the player characters be the children of the original Rise heroes. Wisely the player’s notes pose the question of where are those high-level characters and to discuss it over with the GM. Here’s a few ideas to help:

• Not Quite Retired – After their adventures in Rise of the Runelords, the heroes decided to retire. They settled down in Sandpoint to raise their families in peace, wanting their children to have a normal upbringing away from the dangers of adventure. However, as time went on, the world would not forget the heroes and requests would come for assistance. They might have been asked to join a prestigious organization, protect a kingdom like New Thassilon, or undertake a quest of global importance. Their duties take them far away, possibly to another realm, leaving their children behind to carry on their legacy or possibly to keep them there in safety, secrecy.
• Conflict of Interest – The heroes found themselves at odds with the direction Sandpoint was taking. Whether it was due to political disagreements, conflicting values, or changes they couldn’t abide, they chose to distance themselves from the town. This might have been a gradual process, starting with disagreements over policies and eventually leading to a complete withdrawal from the town’s affairs. 
• Dangerous Presence – Perhaps it’s possible they’re drawing too many dangers to the city. They feared that their presence would bring harm to those they cared about, including their own children. They left Sandpoint to protect their loved ones, knowing that their absence was the best way to keep them safe.
• Seeking Answers – New mysteries arose from their adventures including the ramifications of Return of the Runelords, prompting the heroes to embark on a new quest for knowledge or power. They left Sandpoint to explore ancient ruins, consult wise sages, or seek out artifacts that could help them uncover the truth behind their previous exploits. Their children remained in Sandpoint, unaware of the secret quests their parents were undertaking. It’s possible they’re even helping Sorshen with New Thassilon as I suggested above!
• Mysterious Disappearance – The heroes vanished under mysterious circumstances, leaving no trace behind. Rumors circulated in Sandpoint about what might have happened to them, from being abducted by extraplanar beings to being trapped in a cursed artifact. Their children grew up without knowing the fate of their parents, always wondering and hoping for their return. In a similar vein, the PC could be the secret child and not know their parentage.

The Player’s Guide otherwise gives the typical recommendations on ancestries, classes, archetypes, faiths, languages, skills, and gear. However there are new Backgrounds to use, which I always appreciate. They really help capture lore and ties to a path, often reminding me of the Pathfinder1E trait system. You can be a child of the Sandpoint Cathedral, possibly even a foster of Zantus. That background gives you reputation with the Cathedral, as this path does use the Reputation system to track between influence on various groups. Curious Apprentice has you working for the blacksmiths, a general store, or other trade. You get reputation with the Mercantile League. Both reduce your reputation with the Scarnetti Consortium. Eager Scofflaw makes you a ne’er-do-well of the town with some underworld contacts the Bunyip Club while decreasing your rep with the Town Watch. Lost Coast Local has you from a local family or at least nearby with reputation increases for the Townsfolk, and again the Scarnetti aren’t going to like you. There’s also MIlitia Member, Newcomer, and Runelord Scholar which I’d of course choose. Finally there’s the Scarnetti-Connected so you aren’t from the family but you are connected to them. That might give you a clue as to some of the problems you’ll deal with during the path…

Back to the path there’s a truly amazing, updated Sandpoint gazetteer. The player’s guide has it but not to the extent of the path. Every group is mentioned including the Runewatchers who are interested in learning and trading lore of ancient Thassilon. You get information on earning income, support benefits, and of course a brand new map with details on each location. The Adventure Toolbox has numerous new magical items, some of quite high level despite this path getting characters to a max of 14th level. And there’s something lore-based, something that is extremely exciting to me, hinted at in the past that I so want to talk about but I don’t want to even remotely spoil it. With some more official information I eagerly look forward to bringing these details into my Kingmaker game, as I’m running that as if the other paths have happened. I hope James and Adam Daigle (developer on this with James) are really proud – but not too proud – of the glorious work they’ve done here.

There’s so much more out there to learn about Golarion in the Age of Lost Omens. I highly recommend you invest in this new adventure if you’ve done any of the Sandpoint-based adventures, especially Rise of the Runelords. Even if you don’t intend to run the exact adventure path, it’s filled with useful characters, updated Sandpoint information, stat blocks/crunch, and of course lore that is truly valuable to have for the Age of Lost Omens. If you’re reading through it, hit me up because I need to discuss! Here’s that beautiful Sandpoint art shot to enjoy in parting.

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Seven Dooms for Sandpoint cover, Paizo

1. Sandpoint sign, Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Player’s Guide, Paizo
2. Sandpoint sign, Seven Dooms for Sandpoint, Paizo
3. The Sandpoint Devil, Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Player’s Guide, Paizo
4. Sandpoint Gazetteer, Seven Dooms for Sandpoint Player’s Guide, Paizo

Listen Now! (mp3)

Welcome to Essential Builds, the blog that takes five (or more) Essence20 options and combines them to form a popular culture Player Character. 

I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting. 

Voltron was my first introduction to anime. American studio World Events Productions imported Beast King GoLion from Toei Animation, translating and editing the existing footage into new but similar stories about a superforce of space explorers specially trained and sent by the Galaxy Alliance to bring back, Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Who Is Pidge?

For the record, we’ll be building Defender of the Universe (aka 80s Voltron) Pidge, not Third Dimension (aka 90s Voltron), Voltron Force (aka 00s Voltron), or Legendary Defender (aka 10s Voltron). This might get confusing since Voltron Force is also the name of the team in Defender of the Universe, and I’ll be referring to them as such.

The youngest and most tech savvy member of Voltron Force, Pidge wasn’t your average kid character in an 80s cartoon. He was as combat capable and brave as his young adult allies. Even though the team sometimes talked down to him and used condescending terms of endearment like “little buddy”, Pidge isn’t a sidekick. He’s every bit the space explored as the rest of Voltron Force. When the team does have to rescue him, like in A Ghost And Four Keys, it’s because he chose to face a threat head on, not because he snuck onto a mission like Scott Trakker. 

Building Essence20 Pidge

Like I mentioned when I built Sailor Mercury, I look for opportunities to use Power Rangers options because they tend to be more setting-specific than G.I. JOE, Transformers, and even My Little Pony. And since my earliest experience with a meme was a “You Know You Were An 80s Kid” chain letter sent by e-mail that had the line “You remember when Power Rangers was called Voltron,” I’ve had a Voltron character earmarked for an Essential Build for a while.

Unfortunately, I’ve already used my top two Pidge Role picks for other builds: Blue Ranger and Technician. Do I repeat a Role? Do I look at the Scientist from Transformers? Obviously building a different Voltron pilot is out of the question! It’s Pidge’s birthday week, and this is my gift to him. 

In addition to his brain, Pidge is incredibly agile, performing impressive feats of acrobatics to accomplish mundane tasks. He also seems to be able to communicate with the super intelligent mice in Princess Allura’s castle. I’ll make sure to represent these traits in the build. 

Role

Technician (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

There are a few reasons I opted to reuse Technician over building Pidge as a Scientist:

1. Thematically, Technician fits Pidge’s brand of Smarts better;
2. The Scientist theme will definitely come in handy in the future;
3. Technician’s second best Essence Score progression is Speed (on-brand for Pidge) whereas for Scientist it’s Strength (not on brand for Pidge). 

Even though this is Technician’s second appearance in the blog, it’s a flexible enough Role that I foresee Pidge playing completely different from Super Dinosaur. Unlike the first time it showed up, where our Primary Tech was Armor, this time we’re going with Gear. If we were building Legendary Defender Pidge, we’d probably go with Drone. 

Gear may seem like the most bland Primary Tech option, but it’s also the most versatile. Technicians can use their Primary Tech to make Technology Skill Tests at the range of the tech. In the case of Gear, that’s the range of the HTB Access Pad, which allows for communication across kilometers of distance. Pidge needs to be in contact with someone to use that range, but it means he can help his fellow pilots with any technological problem they’re having. 

Setting and Faction

Power Rangers – It’s Morphin Time (Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

The last time I used the Power Rangers setting for a build, in order to give my Sailor Scout a transformation sequence, she was stuck with a mech. Now, in order to get Pidge his mech, we’re stuck with a transformation sequence. Which, honestly, mostly works. 

The pilots on Voltron did have a transformation sequence. It just involved ziplines and subterranean jet rides. And this just got them in uniform and to their lions, it didn’t power them up like Sailor Scouts and Power Rangers. 

That said, the benefits of It’s Morphin Time still work for Pidge. We don’t know the defensive properties of the Voltron Force uniforms, but given their metallic sheen and slick texture (especially when compared to what the pilots wear in their downtime), it’s safe to say they’re comparable to a Morphin shell. 

Where this build really benefits from It’s Morphin Time is here: “All of your Jump distance maximums are tripled.” In case you haven’t seen Voltron: Defender of the Universe in a while, Pidge jumps. He jumps high, he jumps far, and he jumps often. 

In fact, I could find way more examples of Pidge jumping than I could Pidge being tech savvy. Like, I remember him being the smartest and most technical pilot, and every sequel series emphasizes this as his function on the team. However, based only on what we see Pidge do on the series, I was tempted to build him as a Finesse martial artist. 

Origin

Stargazer (Power Rangers Roleplaying Across The Stars)

What better Origin is there for a member of a superforce of space explorers? I could have just as easily used Brainy from the Power Rangers CRB, but I don’t often get to use Across The Stars options. It’s a thematic book, and that theme fits this build. 

I like the Origin Benefit as well. ↑1 when attempting to discover something. It’s nice and broad and fits Pidge without locking us into a specific Skill or Specialization. 

Influences

1st Morale Booster (Transformers Roleplaying Game The Enigma of Combination)

2nd Greenshirt (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

3rd Nimble (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)

Picking Pidge’s Influences was tougher than usual. I went through Spy’s master list of player options several times before settling on these three. As I mentioned, we know Pidge as the brains of the group without actually seeing it in action that much, making anything about Smarts beyond the Technician Role overkill. Likewise, investing our Origin into Pidge’s history as a space explorer covered that enough. So we needed options that covered everything else Pidge was known for. 

Although Pidge is just as likely to complain or throw a sarcastic comment his teammate’s way, I liked how Morale Booster reflected how he handled the panicked crowds in Surrender. He may have let his own emotions get the better of him while trying to calm a child separated from her mother, but in the end his plan hinged on rebuilding that girl’s confidence enough to stand in for him so he could sneak off and operate the Green Lion. 

Greenshirt got shortlisted when I was having trouble finding Influences, and it was entirely because Pidge wears green. However, even after I found other suitable Influences, I liked how Greenshirt granting both an Edge and an Upshift when Lending Assistance reflected Pidge’s helpful nature, and how the Hang-Up preventing others from Lending Assistance to Pidge represented his Napoleon complex.

Finally, after looking through the Power Rangers, G.I. JOE, and Transformers Influences, I remembered my own advice that My Little Pony is a great Influence resource. Sure enough, Nimble lets Pidge roll an Acrobatics Skill Test once per day to negate an attack. This perfectly captures Pidge’s best action sequence, in which he dodges a squad of Drule robots’ firepower to take them down one at a time. The Hang-Up, which I wrote, prevents him from Lending Assistance on Speed-Based Skill Tests. This was inspired by my experience with the Yoga enthusiasts in my life who tend to forget that most people are far less flexible. 

Essence Scores and Skills

Speed 7

Normally I try to avoid a skyrocketing Speed score, but, again, Pidge won’t stop flipping. I gave him 3 Ranks in Acrobatics and 2 each in Driving and Targeting, and I could have given him more! 

Smarts 5

If I found more examples of Pidge living up to his reputation as the smart one, this would probably have been higher. As it is, I gave him 3 Ranks in Technology and 2 Ranks in Science. 

Social 3

Pidge has a knack with animals, not just the space mice, so I gave him 2 Ranks in Animal Handling. I threw in 1 Rank in Persuasion because Pidge has some great moments of diplomacy, but mostly gets temperamental when asked to speak to others. 

Strength 1

Strength was destined to be Pidge’s dump stat. I gave him 1 Rank in Might, because he does throw the odd punch. Most of his fighting style would sooner fall under Finesse, but I can’t spread his Speed Skills any thinner. 

Conclusion

I think this is a fine build. Power Rangers getting Pidge a Zord does most of the build’s heavy lifting. I would have gone into greater detail if I knew the custom Zord rules better. I will say I’d use the Sabretooth Tiger Dinozord as the basis for a Green Lion. 

Beyond that, as an acrobatic technician with a way with animals, I think Pidge is an unusual blend of Skills that come together surprisingly easily.  

Resources

G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Power Rangers Roleplaying Game Across the Stars

Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformers Roleplaying Game The Enigma of Combination

Listen Now!

Ron Lundeen is an employee of Wizards of the Coast and his opinions are his own.

Also available in writing.

Listen Now! (mp3)

[00:00:20] Esther: Hello and welcome to Know Direction, your number one source for Pathfinder news, reviews, and interviews. I’m Esther. 

[00:00:27] Navaar: And I’m Navaar. 

[00:00:29] Esther: And today we are so excited to talk to someone that I pitched to Navaar being on the show, being like our mutual friend from the tabletop space, would just be such a fabulous guest to have on and share all of her thoughts and wisdom and knowledge with our listeners.

I am so excited to welcome Dr. Emily Friedman to the show. Em, please introduce yourself and tell our listeners a little about who you are and what you do. 

[00:01:00] Em: Hi! Uh, yay! So happy to be here. I’m Dr. Emily Friedman. I’m an Associate Professor of English at Auburn University, which means I have tenure and I do what I want.

And for a long time, that meant researching, in my home field of 18th Century Studies, folks who were creating things outside of like mass commercial capitalism. And when the archives all, you know, closed down in 2020, I found myself studying more and more the world of tabletop roleplaying games, and more specifically Actual Play.

And as of the time of this recording, I am one of the senior scholars among a great host of us who are trying to understand the now two or three decades of this really interesting art form online. And I write for Polygon, when I want to boost that kind of awareness of that field. And I now keep a review blog ,starting this year, on my own website ecfriedman.com, where I do a little bit more of a deeper dive into what works and what doesn’t in Actual Play. 

Em’s TTRPG Origin Story 

[00:02:16] Esther: Amazing. We always start off by asking our guests — usually it’s what’s your Pathfinder origin story, but I don’t actually know if you’ve played Pathfinder! So I’ll make it “what is your tabletop RPG origin story?”

[00:02:31] Em: Yeah, so, um, I started in the late-ish 1990s when I was in high school, and my — and because of where we are in the 1990s, and because I was in Texas, that was dominated by two things: the World of Darkness, uh, which then had kind of a real market dominance, and Steve Jackson games. Which most people will know best for the Generic Universal Roleplaying System, or GURPS, which basically took all kinds of, like, minor IPs and turned them into games you could play.

What I knew it for was it was the company that brought the French roleplaying game In Nomine into English version. And so I was at a Catholic high school, having been at public schools prior to that, faring very awkward. And when we couldn’t convince people to play Vampire as intensely as we wanted to, my nerdy friends and I were able to convince people to play this game of angels and demons and the humans in between.

And then, as I’ve talked about with Navaar before, in college the tabletop space was dominated at my college by what we might now call kind of eugenicists or borderline white supremacists. And so it was not the thing you wanted to do! Um, so, you know, a capella and other things took over.

And came back to the hobby, god help me for this podcast, during the resurgence of 5th edition. Because around here I have a long time good friend who is, we call Forever DM, because he has indeed been running, uh, the game since almost the earliest editions. So yeah, not a whole lot of Pathfinder experience aside from making characters on Demiplane, which has been like a super fun thing that one does, right? We always make more characters and then we end up playing, right? 

Approaching Pathfinder As A Newbie

[00:04:35] Navaar: So true. So what’s the, of the ones that you’ve made on Demiplane, do you have one that you’re like, if I get to play, this is the first one I want to do? 

[00:04:43] Em: You know, what’s been really interesting with me about kind of trying to grok Pathfinder by way of character creation has been kind of playing around with the kinds of translations of classes as we might think of it, and like how much more kind of granular configuration is in those kinds of ways.

And so what’s really struck me is I’m usually like, a utility caster, and that freedom looks like too many choices — um, uh, at least as a kind of newbie. And so I find myself going back to, you know, what does one do when one’s starting a system? One figures out the, like, thing that feels the, the simplest.

And I think that’s still the search for me is like, which, which option is the thing that… I mean, I’m curious to kind of turn it back to you. Like, what would you recommend for someone who’s getting started in Pathfinder? Who’s familiar with the kind of, you know, architecture of, of gameplay, but what kinds of classes and ancestries and backgrounds are like, do you think are the most kind of user friendly if I was, like, telling my students or myself?

[00:05:58] Navaar: It’s so hard because I was literally, we were having a conversation the other day, I think, about how, like, complicated the Fighter is. 

[00:06:05] Em: Mm. 

[00:06:06] Navaar: Um, and not like — maybe complicated is the wrong word,. But like, the options that you have to absolutely customize that Fighter is very, very deep. And it’s not as straightforward as, like, do I use a sword and shield, or do I use two swords, or do I use a big sword? 

Those are options, but it’s very much like the, the trees, the branches go deep. So I honestly think that… here’s what I would say: for anybody that’s new, because I’ve introduced quite a few people to the system, what speaks to you as a fun character idea? And then let’s just build that. Because the reality is it looks scarier than it is — because there’s so many options, true.

But once you have your options and you’re playing, then it starts to feel good. And then you can start to think about like, “Oh, this would be really cool if I could combine this next thing next,” and you follow that sort of feat tree. And then you get general feats and that changes how your character feels in the world at large, in your ancestry feats and those things.

So it’s like, I wouldn’t just put somebody down that road. I think anytime you’re going with spellcaster, the hardest part is always like, I have to learn all these spells and what they mean and how to like manage that part of it. Yeah, I think you could have fun regardless.

I’ve talked a lot about, like, my Sorcerer, who is a multi-class Wizard. And, like, I have a familiar, and I’m a divine Sorcerer. And it’s all this like, really fun stuff that like, I could just do, because of all the things that are already there, so. Yeah, I think, I think you just gotta do it. 

[00:07:43] Em: You just gotta dive in and…

[00:07:45] Navaar: You just gotta dive in, yeah, whatever sounds cool.

Like, if you wanna make a support caster, then do it and just jump in. And, yeah. I’m sure Esther and I both would be happy to run a game for you or teach you how, so. 

[00:07:57] Em: Oh! Yay! 

[00:07:58] Esther: Absolutely. Absolutely. We would love that. And it’s so funny, Navaar had this beautiful and like, welcoming answer, and I went to like a very specific place, which is: I would tell you to play a Ranger.

[00:08:12] Em: Bold! 

[00:08:12] Esther: And I love the Pathfinder Ranger. 

[00:08:16] Navaar: The Ranger’s great. 

[00:08:17] Esther: I think it’s a fantastic class that’s also fairly easy to get a handle on in a way that I did not expect when I played a Ranger. And it has options if you want to add in spellcasting and not multiclass. You can just choose that like, tree for the ranger and it’s a great way to get a feel for combat and for spellcasting in that way. So I was like, play a Ranger! But, yeah you might — it might just be a matter of like figuring out what you’d ideally like to do and then diving in and having a friend to call on for all the different ways you could do it.

On D&D Market Saturation

[00:08:54] Em: Yeah, it’s so interesting. I mean, I talk to my students a lot. I mean some of them are very experienced with TTRPGs — and famously, like I’ll never forget the student who in an opening survey was like, “I have played UNO.” Right? Like, that’s the kind of other end of the scale. And talking about the friction. And the friction is more likely to happen with people who have experience with D&D, as opposed to total newbies. Because total newbies are pretty malleable, and don’t have preconceived notions about how things are supposed to go, which is really fascinating. Especially as– not that this is going to be a dog on, on D&D, uh, sort of evening — but one of the things that we were looking at this term was Wizards of the Coast has put out these like, “D&D in the classroom,” “D&D for after school activities” sorts of handouts.

And I have to say, just from a design perspective, they’re not great. They’re hard to print out, they’re in full color, they’re a mess. And they don’t simplify the game. But what they do do, of course, is promote an idea that D&D is the first game. And so to add that friction that makes it so that other d20 games, other games of fantasy, anything that is proximate to it has now the learning hump of, “Well, but I know how to play D&D, and doesn’t that do everything I need it to do?”

Which is really fascinating. I mean, you would think kind of — or at least I thought– “Yeah, once you’ve got one system down, additional systems make sense!” But only in as far as that they are categorically distinct enough to not to get tangled up in the weeds.

Which is why I think when I do think about classes in Pathfinder, like, it’s almost always classes that don’t have a nomenclature that is one to one with D&D.

So, you know, I bopped off of Wizard, but was like, “Okay, so tell me about this Oracle situation. Tell me about this, like, you know, Psychic stuff. Like, what’s going on here?” Because it’s like, this is where I’m not, I know I’m not gonna get tangled up in my brain. Which I think is, yeah, a friction point that I don’t think we talk enough about.

[00:11:22] Navaar: Yeah, that’s true. I mean, my nephew got into TTRPGs through school, but it’s D&D Club specifically is what it’s called. So it’s like, that’s what they’re playing. That’s not TTRPG Club, where they’re like, let’s learn a bunch of different games. It’s very specifically, whoever is running it decided “This is going to be D&D Club.”

[00:11:41] Em: They want to be Kleenex!

[00:11:41] Navaar: Which is like… yeah, for sure!

And in that way, it’s like, “Well, I’m glad that you’re playing TTRPGs. Let me show you the Mwangi Expanse, because I think it’s very important for you, young Black man, to read this book.” And it’s true. I think it’s… the marketing is there and that makes a difference. 

[00:12:02] Em: Well, and so interesting.

So I got a– I had an interview a couple of weeks ago that I don’t know if it’s… like, I don’t know if the piece is going to come out. I don’t know if I’m going to be part of it. It was like a whole bunch of people got interviewed about D&D in the classroom, and at the end of the interview,the journalist was like, “This is not how I expected this to go.” Because what I did — and I, I warned him ahead of time!

Like, “Look, I love D&D. I think D&D is great. I play it on a regular basis, but it’s not in my classroom, by design and with the, with the consent of my students. Here’s all of the games that I teach. Here’s the games that I introduced to my, you know, eight year old nephew and his little sister who is five.”

You know, here’s the world beyond, right? And the same kind of critiques that I just talked about in terms of the D&D in the classroom handouts. And so this was a surprise to the journalist because everyone else who had been put in touch with him to talk about this subject feels beholden to D&D as the making and the establishing of their career. Like, their brands are tied. Like, so many people in the space. And it’s uncompletely understandable, right? D&D — like, the number of Twitch streams that use Dungeons and Dragons as a label even if they’re not playing D&D, because It is a Kleenex type term, right?

At Polygon, I can guarantee you Critical Role or Dimension 20 — or not Dimension 20. Critical Role or Dungeons and Dragons will end up in either the title or either the headline or the, like, lead-in to any piece in order to — you know, if I could do Baldur’s Gate, I guess that would probably also function, in a similar kind of way.

But yeah, I mean, because that’s what’s gonna, you know, the algorithm privileges those. Which is irritating, right? Like if I wrote, if I started writing about Pathfinder, it would be like, you know, “D&D rival does blah, blah, blah,” right? 

[00:14:04] Navaar: I was literally thinking that in my brain. I was like, yeah, I could see this exactly going this way. 

[00:14:08] Em: Yeah, you can imagine the headline! And, you know, for something like Polygon, you do it because you know, hopefully some people do click through and go, “Oh, well, here’s this whole other world.” But on a kind of just looking at search engine results, it kind of reinforces the cycle.

And this is true also, I should note, in scholarship. Scholarship assumes, you know, a d20 system in many cases. And often it does assume, you know, specifically Dungeons and Dragons. And that’s less… that’s ebbing. But we are here in the year of the 50th quote unquote anniversary according to John Peterson, and thus we fall in line.

And so it is in people’s…

 In the same way that like I’m watching with increasing horror as many of my colleagues who are digital humanists find it useful for their careers and for their ability to communicate with the public like, to add AI as a word to their talk. And God knows that I would probably end up having to do that if I was active in that particular part of the field, which only just kind of, you know, replicates the idea that quote unquote artificial intelligence — which, friends, is artificial indeed, but is actually extremely human based and it is not intelligent at all!– but is that AI is something that we all have to pay attention to? Which I don’t think we actually do. But that is a rant for a different day. But yeah, so it’s it’s frustrating the ways in which, you know, there was a piece in Vox the other day about how we all have to be brands.

[00:15:40] Em: And we all have to kind of think about our self-presentation in that kind of way, unless we’re Tracy Chapman, in which case our body of work stands for ourselves and we can rock onto the Grammys whenever we want, moisturized and unbothered. 

But for the rest of us normal mortals, who are trying to build readerships and communicate effectively, we’re bound to these algorithms we don’t understand, and we have these kinds of, you know, terminology creeps and all kinds of things that really are, a bugbear. Or, are there bugbears in Pathfinder? Um, haha. uh, insert, uh, I think that’s actually a legally not distinct, uh — 

[00:16:19] Navaar: I don’t know! There’s hobgoblins… 

[00:16:20] Em: — bad guy. I don’t think that’s IP that belongs to anyone. I think that’s, that’s open. But yeah, so it’s — this is the thing we all juggle as we try to do different kinds of work. 

Replicating the Success of Big Name Actual Plays

[00:16:31] Navaar: Yeah. I do want to go back just real quick to the Ranger thing, because I was thinking about this and my first NPC I ever made was a Ranger. And he was, I think, at Level 3. And I made him so that he, uh, had another feat that gave him an extra Ranger feat, which allowed him to not only be good at shooting — using two swords — but also have a familiar, which then made me have the options of, how do I use this in combat?

So I’m just saying, yes, Rangers are great. I don’t know how, like, simple it is when you, like, break it down. But I think, like, again, these options are incredible. But yeah, to kind of go back to more of the current conversation, you’ve brought up a lot of things that I think we’re very interested in.

And typically, you of course study all this stuff with games in general, but Actual Play is the other big thing. Esther recently on the show asked me if I wanted to have a big Pathfinder podcast. 

And all I could think about as I was answering the question was you! And so — because, because I, I just think about like conversations that you and I have had, both like recorded and unrecorded about just like, what is the world of big Actual pPay?

How possible is it for somebody to just like, pick up and do the Critical Role thing? Which, I know that there’s a whole lot of nuance to that. You know, but like how easy is it for somebody to come in and go World-Beyond-Numbers-style, we’re just going to become the 5th, 3rd, 4th, whatever biggest podcast in the world when it comes to this specific hobby?

And I just don’t know how possible that is unless it’s, you know, a Brennan, an Aabria, and a Lou and a Erika, like making another podcast. But anyway! So to kind of just like load that gun, APs, education, combining those two things. 

[00:18:28] Em: I mean, so, the first thing I try to communicate to folks — and you’ve, I think you’ve heard me say this before, probably not to you, because I think you know this better than, than most — but certainly like, I feel like a non-trivial part of my time at Big Bad Con was like delivering this kind of news in person. Which is, you know, first of all, Critical Role in the year of our whatever 2023 can’t do what Critical Role did in 2015. Like full stop.

To the extent that we are able to understand their workflow, which is to say almost not at all, because it is is not in their interest to be transparent in the ways, for example, Dimension 20 is. It’s not part of their understanding of their brand. And Critical Role is more likely than most, as the biggest player in the scene, to be criticized for breathing.

I’m shocked — today, the Critical Role Foundation was praised on socials by Shanti Bhavan, Ajit George’s kind of school, for a visit from much of the cast of Critical Role. I’m surprised that hasn’t turned ugly in some unforeseeable way up till now, and it might still. So this is all to say we don’t — I don’t have any insider knowledge on to how Critical Role works, any more than anybody else. But what we do know is that it, whatever its workflow is, it can still be disrupted by illness.

There was a recent sick day where basically they had to have an entirely improvised livestream of Baldur’s Gate character creation rather than air what would have already been pre-recorded material. So we know that there’s at least points in their production cycle where it’s too close to air, where things can fall apart.

It is not quite the well-oiled machine of a bunch of people recording in a basement that hallmarks Dimension 20. Which is all to say that Critical Role’s figuring out what sustainable means for them, in relationship to their stuff. Dimension 20 seems to have a reasonably decent workflow, so does Worlds Beyond Number.

They, like many shows now, do batch recording. Which, when you have a large enough production going that talent is not doing the same labor that production is — you have full-time production to keep stuff kind of chugging out — talent meets in a concentrated amount of time to do the raw recording and then can go off and do the other kinds of things.

And that seems to function. 

That said, there’s — none of the big shows started without some kind of supportive capital, be it personal capital, be it the backing of something like Geek and Sundry or Dropout or Beyond. Even on the podcast side, that tends to be true; if not at the very beginning, the initial podcast production almost becomes like a pilot before a network picks it up. That’s the story, right, behind Three Black Halflings. That’s the story, behind actually most Headgum podcasts, except for their most recent one, which is the next subject of a salty review by me coming behind a walled garden to my site sometime this month.

But yeah, so when I think about Actual Play, there’s a couple of things that I think about. One is that there is a non-zero number of people who believe that no one should be paid for any aspect of tabletop roleplaying including Actual Play. So there are people who believe, very sincerely, that they should not be paid.

And this is not audience-upon-creator. These are creators who believe very strongly that they do not want the constraints of capital on their work. And there are more constraints from capital than there were in the 2010s. One of the things that was fascinating to me originally about this form was the ways in which it is able to elude a lot of the pressures of big media.

But there’s now, especially with the Ambitious Middle or even some of the bigger shows — not all. I think Dimension 20 and Critical Role are able to keep their own sense of their artistic vision for better, worse, and neutral. But, you know, if your show is basically sponsored by Chaosium, like say, The Bookstores and now the Graveyards of Arkham, that’s ceding some creative control in terms of what the final product is.

One of the things that my current research student, who I think you both got to meet at Big Bad Con, Carson Barnes, and I are working on is a new survey. A new year, a new survey! And a survey specifically asking folks about these kinds of, like, commercial and authorship terms. 

Like, do you see yourself as the owner of intellectual property? Do you see yourself as contributing to work for hire? All those kinds of questions. Because we are in a changing moment in relationship to how people think about these things. And some people have very — like I think about, Hamnah’s relationship to their work in terms of what Gudiya was supposed to do.

Gudiya was not supposed to make a gajillion dollars for that team. It was supposed to be a work of art that communicated something. And hopefully, like, if it could break even through grants or through some other kind of you know, mild monetization, hey, great. Like, and it’s sponsored by Roll and all those sorts of things.

But it’s not trying to be their full-time job in the way that other projects are. And so I think there’s a scale of, where does this fit in your creative life? And what’s striking to me is if you’re talking about the people who are closest to the like, the dream — your Matt Mercer’s, your Brennan Lee Mulligan’s — this was not the plan.

And this is not the current lived reality, right? This is not their full-time job. It is one job among many. It happens to be — it may be, in some cases, the most lucrative part of their work. But it may not be. It may be the loss leader. It may be the thing that, you know, gives them exposure in a weird kind of way.

But then you see this tier of, you know, what I’ve been calling the Ambitious Middle all over the place, of folks who believe that it’s possible to get to what in the history of TTRPGs has never been possible, which — or has rarely been possible — which is the making of either Actual Play or tabletop roleplaying games your full-time job.

Very few people have managed to do it,. And you’ve got people like Meguey Baker saying, “It’s not worth trying. Get a day job, you know, that allows your brain to explore and have this on the side as the thing that fills your cup so that you both have health insurance and, and the kind of, you know, room of one’s own that allows you to do the work.”

Now, I don’t have good answers. I’m just a dum-dum in the ivory tower. But I do see this kind of constellation of different attitudes towards making this stuff, and some of them seem more tethered to an understanding of the possibilities and the history of this, of this space, and others that seem less moored in… objective reality. Precedent! Let’s put it — I mean, precedent’s really hard, right? And when you have the, like, greatest storytellers, or the biggest storytellers in the space, not telling the full story of the circumstances of their own production, you have a real challenge when, you know, folks coming in think, “Well, I want to be the next Critical Role.”

And while they say, you know, we hope other people will surpass us — and I think Matt is sincere when he says that’s his goal — it’s not going to be in the same way. And it’s not going to look the same. Technology is changing. All these kinds of things are changing all the time. We don’t know what it looks like next, and we don’t know what the pathway is. But anybody who’s trying to replicate past success is in big trouble if what they want is that outcome.

This has been your sermon of the evening from the Reverend Doc. No, I am not the Revered Dr. Friedman. Um, but, this is. 

[00:27:22] Navaar: It doesn’t take much, just go online, I’ve done it, I’m a reverend! 

[00:27:27] Em: Yeah, I haven’t had to marry anybody! But no, it’s very interesting. This is a conversation that happened the other day.

This is academic hiring season at the time of this recording. It’s also academic graduation and acceptance period for, for graduate school. And so you have a lot of people who are, whose hearts are hurting. And hurt people say things on the internet, and my job is to let that go or take the lesson from it.

And one of them is, you know, the person who gets the academic job or gets into graduate school and is like, “There’s for all the people who didn’t believe in me!” It’s like, I wonder how many of the people this person spoke to, I wonder how many of them truly did not believe in this person and their ability to do the thing that they’ve done. And how many of them were looking at the like, strewn broken bodies of all the people who had tried, and wanted either this person to be aware of those risks in the same way that we tell, like, actors, right, you’re, you’re going to have a day job, and it’s going to be grunt work and, you know, auditioning is going to be your actual job, you know? All those kinds of things. 

But yeah, how do we as mentors say the thing I just said, which is like, “This is hard, it’s not gonna look — success is not gonna look the way it has in the past. The world’s on fire.” And not have it kind of get filtered through to the recipient of the communication as, “You don’t believe in me. You want me to fail. You think I can’t do it for whatever reason.” Which is not the case at all. It’s more, look, this system? None of us know the answer to how to navigate it. This is, this is the current thing that keeps me up at night, for sure.

On Critical Reading, Source Materials, and Actual Play

[00:29:10] Esther: I have a question that I think is related in some ways and may may feel like a bit of a tangent in others, and it requires a bit of setup. So on the show, we frequently review Pathfinder products, either technical manuals or their more like worldbuilding guides in the Lost Omens line.

And one of the things that has been really striking to me is approaching these works critically and thinking critically about them, and how it feels like that’s still relatively rare in this field. And so I’m curious as a scholar of narrative, to ask you, like, why does it matter to approach source books critically? And why does it matter to approach Actual Play and that kind of narrative and storytelling more critically and more analytically?

[00:30:04] Em: On one level, it doesn’t, right? Is the very short answer. And this is something that I think about a lot. In some ways, for some things, criticism is not something that the object can bear, right? If you are putting out a Actual Play that is a product placement, and that is its goal, then maybe it’s too much to critique the choices made. Because that’s irrelevant to the goal. The creators will not appreciate it and the people consuming it won’t find it useful. And I think that’s also true with printed material, right? And this is the constant, like, debate. I mean, Evan Torner knows this much better than I do.

And this is really big in LARP as well. Like that’s the current kerfuffle going on in Nordic LARP, is like what does it mean to review a LARP, given that no one person has a 360 view of what it was, let alone what it fits in like the larger history of LARP? And there was a piece that Evan just shared with me that came out that was entitled, “This LARP is Terrible and You Should Know,” which was basically, like, promoting, like, yes, criticism is one kind of thing, but so is reviewing in terms of the like, Yelp review? Like, LARPs need Yelp reviews, uh, in ways that they don’t have. I digress slightly. 

But this kind of, what is criticism specifically for? Is something that’s very much on my mind. And why am I not doing hardcore criticism in Polygon, where I’m sure I could get clicks? And Charlie would probably let me at least try? Versus what I’m doing, which is building it behind a kind of subscriber, free, walled garden for people I think of as people of goodwill, who either are curious about the form and its history or who are trying to make the form and are artistically ambitious. Not just ambitious in terms of “I want to be famous,” or “I want this thing to do well,” but “I want to do this thing well.” Present company included, right? And so in that sense, what criticism does — and obviously I’ve devoted my entire life to the notion that literary criticism does this — is make it so that we understand and have a vocabulary for what this individual thing is, what it was trying to do, according to the terms of its own construction, and how well or not it achieves it.

And so it’s irrelevant what — although it can sometimes come what the critic thinks of it or whether they like it — what’s important is: is it fulfilling the, the contract that it wants to be? The example I’ve been trotting out recently is, I’m very glad that The Real Housewives and D&D exists.

I don’t need it. I mean, it’s fine. I think it’s done well for what it is. I don’t, it’s not my particular, you know, form of “this is the Actual Play I need to be listening to.” But it fulfills a particular niche, right? And it reaches a new audience. Somebody, you know, people who are big Real Housewives nerds, welcome! It’s D&D. Have a fantasy version. 

It’s clever and it, and then we can think about, okay, so how’s the sound design? And, you know, what’s the pacing like? And how does it, you know, and, and — what we don’t yet have and what this experiment on my site is trying to do is figure out, okay, so what are those like… when we talk about pacing, what are we looking for?

Do we have an agreement on, you know, how quickly we should be getting into story in an actual play? And of course, that’s very dependent on, video versus audio, all edited versus not. And of course, part of what we have to do is take things in their particular kind of format and not compare apples to oranges to pears. And so this is the kind of work that I’m trying to do. 

And in terms of supplements, I think it gets stickier. Because with TTRPGs — as opposed to the art objects that come out of them, which are Actual Plays — we are in a very different kind of reviewing space. One, almost all reviewers don’t play… don’t playtest the material that they write about. A notable exception is Quinten Smith’s new Quinn’s Quest, which has a explicit — although it’s behind a Patreon paywall, but I’m just gonna share here — an explicit goal of convincing people to play literally anything other than Dungeons Dragons. And Quinn’s has spent the last two years playtesting games with his home game group.

He is committed to, there will be no review that he does that won’t have been him running the game. That’s rare. And it’s really important as part of reviewing because then you know actually how it played. Now, at the same time, we almost always futz and tinker, right? No game supplement, no game adventure, no game materials survive contact with actual flesh and blood human beings.

And this is that we’ve long known in game studies is, you know, that that’s the difficult variable. It’s like, how much is the supplement, the campaign guide, the adventure, whatever, giving you to work with? And how much are you bringing to it? And there is not a good answer to that part, honestly.

But I do think that the, the move towards encouraging people to play before they speak is really useful. And so what I’m hoping is that Quinn’s will do for tabletop roleplaying game reviews what he did for the last over a decade for board game reviews. So it’s not just him, but now there’s an entire style of board game reviewers, which means they can cover more ground and review more games because there’s more people playing and thinking about them in those kinds of ways.

So if we turn the discourse away from one person’s, like, just churning out hot takes about everything, but instead saying look, Quinn’s new channel –at the time of this recording, it’s been less than a week since he announced this channel.

It already has almost 30,000 subscribers, almost 100, 000 views on the first, that first review. That’s better than many other media outlets and tabletop that have a lot more content and have been going around for a lot, a lot longer. And this is a guy who sells out board games. I do this reviewing work because of the inspiration of Quinten Smith.

I came into this space because of Shut Up and Sit Down. And so I am looking to what he’s doing to, as kind of what I’m hoping will be the model going forward. But yeah, it’s really hard. Especially when it’s not the full game system, but you’re talking about you know, trying to unpack what an individual supplement is doing, for sure.

[00:37:34] Navaar: Yeah. You touch on something about the promise. So, a lot of people know this — I guess the people that talk to me — my game design mentor is Quinn Murphy. And he has a blog, and he talked about recently, about what can make a quality game that’s like, measurable. And promise is one of the things. Does it, like, deliver on the promise? 

Consistency. Are multiple people having a, a consistent kind of game? It’s not gonna be the same game, of course, but are we having a consistent experience of how we understand? And economy. You should read it. It’s called Imagination is for Everyone.”

Yeah. But all that said, I think it’s one of those things where… I think about this a lot as a person who recently like, designed and had a game published, and a person who recently produced and released an Actual Play. 

[00:38:23] Em: And it sounds very lovely, by the way, Navaar. 

[00:38:25] Navaar: Thank you. Thank you. And I want people to listen to and tell me all their thoughts about the Actual Play. And I’m very excited for that. And I also want people to play the game, but I’m more reticent about what that review of the game looks like.

In the reviews that I’ve seen, there’s always this, it seems to be that there’s oftentimes a part of the people that they just can’t get out of themselves that goes into the review, that has nothing or very little to do with what actually you did. I do think that game design is artistic, it’s an art form. But I also think that there’s like, it’s a technical skill as well. 

[00:39:02] Em: Mm hmm. 

[00:39:03] Navaar: Is the game functional, right? Yes, you have your themes and your creative ideas, but is the game functional? And a lot of times that’s the, the core of the review is, is this game functional?

Like, yeah, this is cool. This is really cool ideas over here– 

[00:39:15] Em: Right. 

[00:39:15] Navaar: –but this game doesn’t play…

[00:39:16] Em: That’s the stuff that it’s easy to identify without playing it. 

[00:39:20] Navaar: Right. 

[00:39:21] Em: And I think what’s, what’s interesting is, you know I think about Candela, ’cause Candela kind of ate my brain as a critic, ’cause it kept coming up in conversation. Because I had to like, mainline that quick start guide alongside the Actual Play.

And having run that opening adventure and having watched the Candela Actual Plays, none of which follow the game as-written, including the one run by Spencer — Spencer Stark and his two friends all each ran a three-episode chapter of Candela and not a damn one of them– I think Aabria arguably got the closest in terms of like, the one of the hallmarks of, of Candela is a five-to- seven-minute functional cinematic that the storyteller, the GM, reads out. It is a narrativized version of what the players of the Candela circle have been told as kind of the info dump about the phenomenon.

But it is a very weird like, the camera is moving and seeing things that, quite honestly, it would be impossible, but it’s somehow an eyewitness account. Fascinating, uh, strategy. Matt Mercer turns it into a roleplaying opportunity with one of the characters, so it becomes personal and becomes the kind of origin point for one of the characters. And Spencer just functionally all but throws it out because he starts in medias res and then like, starts over again with yet another adventure. Which is all to say that one of the things that’s really interesting to me about, you know, that consistency of experience rate is which parts are consistent.

‘Cause if, you know, this incredibly, what seems to be an important part of the structure of Candela, its designers even kind of eschew — or, you know, kind of warp to their purposes — it’s a good reminder. And I also think about the ways in which, you know, For The Queen is foundational to my tabletop class and the number of ways I’ve seen that game, you know, not deliver a consistent experience to players! And that’s part of one of the, you know, charms of that game. 

To tie it to Actual Play– and not to do an on-air critique of your Actual Play when you weren’t expecting it — but one of the things I will say that listening to your episode reminded me of — but it wasn’t the only show that reminded me of this by a country mile! But it reminded me that depending on the rule system, rules can become much less legible to an audience, especially if they’re not already familiar with them, unless you’re really pedagogically like front-loading them. And that goes kind of double in an edited audio format. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s, it’s just a thing, right? It’s just a reality of the form is that, you know, people ask me like, why is D&D dominant?

And like, one, it’s Kleenex. And two, if you are playing D&D, then you have the advantage of adding, in addition to the reality TV show layer and the improvised story layer, sportsball. Right? Like, you now have stats you can track, you can imagine alternate moves in addition to alternate character choices, and, you know, all of those sorts of things.

And other systems can have the element of chance! And I think it’s very important for Actual Play to have the very visible or audible element of chance so that the audience can understand the ways it could have gone differently, and also so that we have the kind of liberatory narrative possibility of it not following the traditional genre scripts in interesting kinds of ways. 

Other people disagree with me. Travis from Dark Dice is twitching somewhere. But yeah, so I think that’s one of the things that is quite striking to me. We don’t have — as like scholars who have debated this for decades, and I’m coming late to the conversation where scholars and designers and folks have been having this fight about, you know, what is a game? You know, what makes a good game? You know, how do you know? How do you evaluate? All of those sorts of things. Which only matter in a time of scarcity, right? Either of time, of money, of resources, in those kinds of ways– 

[00:44:08] Navaar: yeah. 

[00:44:08] Em: –I think. 

Intentionality and Actual Play

[00:44:10] Navaar: It’s interesting, because I know what you’re talking about. And that was an intentional thing, right? Like, I think we’ve — you talked about this before, about the way that Actual Plays can be these different things. Like some people think, still, that Actual Play is only recording the game that you played, right? That is like, for playtesting purposes or whatever. And then we have like, I saw somebody put out on Twitter what they want to see more in Actual Plays, what people want to see more. And everybody’s like, “Please, like, give me all the roles and, like, all the things.

[00:44:38] Em: Do you? Do you really… all of them? 

[00:44:41] Navaar: Not everybody thinks that’s interesting or listenable. And I made a choice to say that I’m not going to teach you how to play this game. If you find it interesting and you want to play the game, I think that’s amazing. And I will help you, if you’re not a weirdo. And by that I mean, like, actually being a creepy person. 

[00:44:58] Em: Sure, sure. 

[00:44:59] Navaar: Um, but, I think that the design of it is that it’s for entertainment. I know specifically that that is like a subset of, of the Actual Play. And I think it’s… we talked about this in our last recording.

I don’t know if it’s going to be the last episode based on when these things release, but in our last recording that Esther and I did, we talked about intentionality and Actual Play and like ,what that looks like. So I know what you mean. I’m sure there’s going to be people who are like, “I don’t understand how to play your game, though.” And I’m like, “That’s great! I get that, but did you have fun listening to it? ‘Cause that’s what you’re here for at this moment. It’s just the story this time. If you want to play the game, then I think that’s wonderful.”

So I know that I… yeah, it’s one of those things. Like I think it’s a, it’s an interesting gamble. But I think like, to kind of tie it into the conversation in that same way, if we were to say like, “Cool, somebody make a like, big time TTRPG celebrity Pathfinder Actual Play,” I think they’d have to play and demonstrate rules or else it just, it’s gonna lose its quote unquote Pathfinder polish, I guess.

Like yes, you’re using that subset. But like, it’s… to have it be like the thing that drives people to like, go buy Pathfinder books, it’s going to have to be like a Pathfinder game. And you just can’t ignore that, I don’t… I don’t think, personally. 

[00:46:19] Em: Yeah, I mean, I have not, for many different reasons, good, bad, and petty, spent a lot of time analyzing the Glass Cannon, which of course is the– 

[00:46:32] Navaar: Yeah. 

[00:46:33] Em: –the, you know, the big dog in the space. But yeah, I, I’m curious as to… you know, it is an edit — it is a pretty tightly edited podcast, when it’s a podcast. 

[00:46:48] Navaar: Yeah. 

[00:46:49] Em: But… 

[00:46:49] Navaar: I’ll say this as a person who listened to the entire first season, which was Pathfinder First Edition. 

[00:46:56] Em: Yes. 

[00:46:57] Navaar: They play a lot of like, there’s a lot of rules. I think the only times that they edited out stuff was like when it was like a 40-minute like full-on rules fight between the GM and the players of being like, “You got this wrong.”

And then they were just like, you’d get like the beginning of that and then you get the end of that with the result and, and things would move forward. But there was a lot of like, you’d still hear the dice. You’d still, you know, get like all of their, you know, the results and all those other things. I haven’t listened to them recently, for the petty and, and the bad. But I will say like, I think that I did check out like 20 minutes of the introduction and the editing seemed the same. And I was like, okay. 

[00:47:35] Em: Well, and I think — and they’re an unusual case in the sense that they’re nominally independent, but they do have a licensing agreement with Paizo. And I do know, right, they’re using, like… it’s weird, right? They have the ability to use, like, Adventure Paths and things like that from Paizo. They also, as I understand it, have a whole bunch of like, weird homebrew and stuff.

But yeah, it’s… it’s… 

[00:48:02] Navaar: Yeah. It’s like, it’s one of those things like you can’t talk about the history of Actual Play with and exclude Glass Cannon because in terms of like, coming from not having financial backing to like, being independent as a company, they’re one of the few. 

[00:48:18] Em: They are one of the few. Although they’re comparatively… I won’t say late, but like, they’re not firsties, right?

Like, if you’re talking about an Actual Play that has a, has a licensing agreement with a publisher and is quite large, then you’re talking about Penny Arcade’s relationship with Wizards of the Coast for Acquisitions Incorporated. If you’re talking about a podcast network that is built on Actual Play primarily, then I think you’re probably talking about Glass Cannon.

There are a couple of others that can make those kinds of claims. Yeah, I mean, and this is the kind of not-joys of Actual Play history, is how many of the firsties, or near firsties, or people who will send me angry emails when I don’t mention them but would not like it if I did, are kind of…

I mean, so we’ve been dancing around the petty. But like, let’s, the, the two frames of Glass Cannon’s critique are of course, this time last year — or not last year.

Uh, no, it wasn’t the OGL. It was the, during the Screen Actors Guild Strike and the Writers Guild Strike in the summer. The Glass Cannon, who could have kept their mouths shut because they are not covered by SAG as most Actual Plays are not, chose instead, to have one of their cast owners go on the record to say that they were glad that they were not unionized.

Now, it should be noted that there are other creators in the space who I admire a great deal, who believe very strongly, right, unionization is the next best thing to owning something yourself, right? You could absolutely frame such a comment as collective worker ownership — for example, the way that Maximum Fun has moved to a worker-owned collective — you know, is the highest ideal.

That is — that was not the, that was not the terms under which this was being discussed. Uh, it’s also worth noting that the Glass Cannon is not a worker-owned collective. They have employees. So no, they actually — even if they had gone that route, then it would have been like, so when are you going to have a worker-owned collective?

I digress. The other sticking point is that Glass Cannon shows so far have not moved the needle on their casting practices in any meaningful way. Which is to say that you can pretty much, for any of the shows that they produce, anticipate that there will be one person of color, one female identified person, and then the rest will be cisgender white men.

And that’s a choice. It’s a choice that seems to be working for them. It is antithetical to my choice for Polygon coverage. You either have to be so large and so impactful — for example, Natural 6 got coverage because they’re a bunch of video game folks. Uh, I think there is room to critique if they blow up. The fact that they have chosen to follow the Critical Role playbook in this The Year of Our Lord 2023 -24 while intentionally remaining a group of all-white friends… and that’s not something that really flies anymore in the space.

But they’re… it’s a big enough project that at least gets some lip service. Also, if you get grandfathered in, right? Your Critical Roles and things of that ilk. And it’s worth noting that most of the things that would be officially grandfathered in under that kind of policy of “we would like to do more representative coverage,” are in turn trying in different kinds of ways to have more representative casts.

And we could go on all day about how Critical Role’s very notion of cast ownership makes it difficult for them to have new full-time cast members, because then they’re not owners and then you have a two-tiered system and that seems weird. So they — Critical Role in this, as in many things, has themselves in a dilly of a pickle.

This is a long way of saying: Glass Cannon? Kind of annoying in their choices. And it’s a bummer that they’re the most visible Pathfinder… not just show, but right? It’s like this whole extended universe of material. And that’s the thing that’s also wild to me about where we are is, in terms of Actual Play, is it’s very hard for there to be criticism in a form where people don’t watch their own work, let alone that of others.

Because we are talking about the production of, for especially things that are very large, a kind of constant stream of material. So that you basically overwhelm your audience so that they live in your ecosystem forever, because that is the way to retain valuable viewer engagement in all kinds of ways. Which is antithetical to thinking about any one thing as a, you know, as a work of intentional art. Some people do manage it, but not, not all.

[00:53:31] Esther: I’m like, I don’t know if they listen to the show, but hello, Glass Cannon people! If you listen to the show, um… 

[00:53:37] Em: Yeah. Call in. Call, calling in. Call in. 

[00:53:41] Esther: We invite you… 

[00:53:44] Em: You could do better. 

[00:53:46] Esther: We invite you to do better.

[00:53:48] Em: Yeah. You tour all over! Imagine what houses you could book if you looked different. 

[00:53:54] Navaar: Yeah. It’s, it’s an interesting thing. 

[00:53:56] Em: And what’s frustrating is like people who, uh, whose work I very much admire are in the Glass Cannon kind of extended universe. 

[00:54:04] Navaar: Yeah. 

[00:54:04] Em: That’s the other kind of difficult thing is like, you can’t blame anybody for taking a gig.

[00:54:08] Navaar: Yeah. For getting paid. 

[00:54:12] Em: Yeah. ‘Cause paying gigs are — well, one hopes they’re being paid, and being paid sufficiently. I have no knowledge one way or the other. I do sometimes hear about pay rates and things like that, but I have, I do not have any particular knowledge there. 

Diversity, Inclusion, and Actual Play

[00:54:29] Navaar: It’s a whole thing. It’s a whole thing, Glass Cannon Podcast. I mean, it’s one of those things, I think that we all have that like… I talk a lot about this, especially with like, my friends, other friends who are, are people of color, of like, we all have that show that we started out with that was an all-white show.

A lot of people, it’s Critical Role. Some people it’s NADDPod. Some people it’s Adventure Zone. Some people it’s Glass Cannon. But I think like one of the things that we can do, even if there is like not that mega show, right? I think… I think Actual Play is important, hands down. And I think that like finding other shows to listen to that, that need your listen and your view more than a show that has, you know, 60, 000 concurrent viewers or whatever the hell…

If you care about this as a art form and as entertainment, like it’s important for us to help feed into it as well when we can. And even if you can’t catch a stream by catching VODs, listening to podcasts, like rating and supporting shows, telling people that you enjoy their work, those kinds of things like seem — not like insignificant, but they actually matter a lot to people who are working their asses off to make something with the hope that somebody will listen to it and enjoy it. So… 

[00:55:43] Em: Yeah, I mean, I think that the tricky part, right, is that we are still talking about entertainment. Right? And so one of the challenges, and this is, you know, kind of the ouroboros of — this is the, you know, snake eating its own tail kind of challenge — is that we also see in the kind of… there was a recent piece on the video game industry, right?

If you have a woman-led, or even a woman on the lead team — to say nothing of people of color in the leadership team — you’re far less likely to get venture capital money. And so we’re talking about the combination of inherited wealth, generational wealth, in terms of some members, uh, you know, of different collectives on top of the kinds of looks-like-me kinds of support funding structures. And so the kinds of high quality, like, and time-intensive kind of production choices are more accessible to certain positionalities. And I think — I appreciate that in some cases that’s changing. Like DesiQuest is a good example of this, right? Because if you look at who’s who’s on the backstage of that?

It’s Michael Schabach, who’s been directing Dimension20 since the beginning. It’s Ash Minnick, who’s basically a project manager on a whole bunch of different kind of shows and, and production coordinator, and different kinds of roles. And so, I think one of the, the things that I think about that I don’t have a good answer to is, because we don’t have a kind of pipeline or avenues for getting those kinds of resources to smaller shows, more representative shows — especially because the big publishers, for one, are either cheap as hell — Wizards– or not as big as you’d think they are, everybody else, including Paizo.

Advertising budgets don’t necessarily stretch to the kinds of productions that are at the forefront. It’s more possible in audio to create something through sheer just throwing hours at it than on the video side, which is why it’s always– which is why it’s wild to me when folks do livestreaming video, like the, as their primary focus. It’s like, I mean, go with God, but like, that is a very different kinds of, um set of expectations and all kinds of things.

And I know that there are a non- insignificant number of kind of journalists and media writers and things like that who, if it’s not Critical Role, if you’re an unedited video-first, streaming Actual Play, you’re not – first of all, they’re not watching Critical Role, they’re checking on recaps and things like that, just like everybody else.

But, more importantly, that’s just not the place that’s getting media attention. Podcasts? Much more likely. Edited material? Much more likely. Edited video is the most resource- intensive of all of those options. Live video is no joke! And I don’t want to downplay the amount of labor, but it’s definitely far less labor. 

And so it’s hard to know like, as somebody who’s like, bringing people into the medium and trying to point people in places where I know like, that their imagination’s gonna get caught and run with… 

Part of it is, if you want to build a small audience and find your people, then that’s a very different lift than, “I want this to be financially sustainable,” especially depending on the different production asks.

And so I think about that a lot. Because I believe very strongly that every encounter with an Actual Play and an audience member becomes a certain kind of love story, right? I also know that a small, passionate, devoted audience base can be enough for certain kinds of things. And we have a long history in like, the history of the world– I do not normally go since the dawn of time, but the vast majority of human history and art is not about millions of people watching or reading or seeing your stuff. 

 I study the 18th-century novel. I can pull out of a database the number of copies of say, Jane Austen, published in her lifetime. We are talking about thousands. Not tens of thousands, not hundreds of thousands, not millions.

Now, granted… now, absolutely. And she was impactful on the basis of thousands of copies. Now, that’s also because of power and literacy rates and who’s reading. But so much of the history of art is about something that’s made for a small group, and some of them become of interest to people in power, and power imagined in different kinds of ways.

But if all of us are chasing millions, then we’re gonna water down what we do to nothing. And if we expect that something that is — to use the old term from the 90s, “for us, by us” — is going to be uptaken by the masses in a kind of charitable giving situation, I don’t think that’s going to happen. And so then what do we do with that?

And I… for some reason when I’m thinking about kind of DesiQuest, is one of their visual ways of splitting the difference. Which is, that table unapologetically uses Bengali terms and other terms, um, from the Indian subcontinent. And then there’s a lower third that’s like, if your honky ass doesn’t know what this is, then here, have the quick explainer. We’re not gonna stop and explain for you. We’ve delegated to post-production because we can — as a kind of having it both ways. And then they’re also using like — I really found it really fascinating when I saw their TikToks. Their TikToks are all tagged Indian Comedy, not Indian Actual Play. But like, they’re trying to pull in that broader audience. So not the subset of folks who are identified as South Asian already in the TTRPG space, but instead falling beyond. And I think… that’s one of the things that I think a lot about, is: how do we pull in the larger part of our communities, that aren’t aware of TTRPGs, into this space? Because then you’ve got something approaching critical mass or, you know, the Thousand Loyal Fans concept or something along those lines.

And Actual Play, then, has to change. And it has to change, I think, in interesting ways for different audiences, right? If you were designing an Actual Play for Black Twitter, for the old livetweeting kind of vibe of Black Twitter at its height, you would make different kinds of stylistic choices than, say, if you were thinking structurally about what does it mean to make a kind of, you know, telenovela, sort of Actual Play. And I think people are trying to do that. I’m seeing it all the time.

I think that we are so married to so many of the structures that we’ve inherited from the early days, in terms of what the screen should look like or how things should sound or that sort of thing, that the kind of experimentation that could kind of be truly transformative is not happening. 

So like the other day on Twitter, I asked: are you trying to reach a new audience beyond TTRPGs with your show? If so, what are you trying to do? And almost everybody was like, “we explain the rules.” And I’m like, okay, so that means somebody that, that means somebody who doesn’t know TTRPGs will understand what you’re doing once they’re there, but they’re still coming in because they’re presumably — unless you’re tricking them in some kind of way, in which case I want to know how you’re tricking them, 

[01:04:30] Navaar: [laughs] Yeah.

[01:04:31] Em: You know, and they’re — I get into fights that are not fights with Brian and, Elliot from My First Dungeon, because sometimes they’ll label something in such a way so that it’s not quite Actual Play so that they can get the audio drama audiences in. 

[01:04:47] Navaar: Yeah. 

Innovation and Actual Play

[01:04:47] Em: And I think, you know, in the same way that — and this is 18th-century novel kid speaking again — in the same way that the 18th-century novel originally came out of a whole bunch of other storytelling forms, and in fact was such a duplicate of those forms, that the books all sat on the same shelves and you couldn’t tell which were like, the true criminal histories and which were like the fake ones based on a true story.

You know, Robinson Crusoe, based on a real guy’s story? Total novel. Also really weird novel about like, accounting. And so it’s travel literature, it’s criminal biographies, it’s personal memoirs, it’s secret books of letters, right? And so the novel comes and becomes its own thing first by like, imitating all of these other forms.

And we saw that in the beginning of Actual Play through the kind of Let’s Play format. It’s literally looking like play style, or the kind of audio drama-adjacent kinds of moves. But I think there’s other things that we can do. I personally, like — Encounter Party was not made for me. But Encounter Party is doing this, right?

It’s edited by a production team that has most of its experience in reality television shows. The pitch is, what if D&D was edited like Masterchef? It’s finding an audience!

[01:06:14] Navaar: Yeah. 

[01:06:15] Em: I mean, and it’s squirreled away on the D&D Fast channel. You kinda have to go looking for it. 

But I think there’s ways in which we can push the form further. What do shows that don’t already have you know, a bunch of money rolling in — what do they have to lose to experiment? To try something out for a couple of episodes and see, what if we try telling this in a different kind of way?

You know, what if we take the things that we love not just for thematic grist for the mill, but for structural grist for the mill in terms of storytelling? And what if we unapologetically made something that’s for whatever communities we feel like we’re not just representing, but talking to?

What if you didn’t care what my white lady ass thought? I would eat that up with a spoon. Not that anybody cares about that, but like, I think that’s where the new stuff will come in. ‘Cause like, I get so many pitches in my inbox of people telling me like, “We’re all friends!” Like, congratulations, you like your coworkers. The bar is on the floor for that. 

Or I get, you know, “We’re playing a new system.” Like, okay, but are you playing a new system in an interesting way? And also it’s not a new system! Whatever system you’ve mentioned to me has been — or you know, “We’re rotating the cast.” And I’m like, you mean like Rotating Heroes did and does?

If you start from the assumption that everything under the sun has been done and that that’s not going to make you interesting, and if you start from the idea that we are in a beautiful time of not a predominance of — aside from the old guard. Like, new shows coming in, generally speaking, can say with authority that they are either BIPOC- concentrated-representative. And this is an overwhelmingly queer form, so like, congratulations, your cast is queer. Again, bar on floor. But, the cast — 

[01:08:18] Navaar: It’s one of those, it’s like, it’s like — it’s like bad audio. Like, we don’t care unless, unless you make it apparent that you didn’t have any people of color and you didn’t have any people that are queer in your show. Then we care. We expect it to be the normal thing. 

[01:08:29] Em: Exactly. And so, so none of those things are bad. They’re insufficient to get eyes on in a time when there are thousands of these things. And that’s really tricky. 

As I’ve, as we’ve been talking about, you know, I’m not trying to discourage anybody from making something interesting. Because the next person who comes in the space may be the person who, you know, makes the gripping telenovela both in style and in content of Passione de los Pasioneros that we’ve all been dreaming of. 

But at the same time, we’ve overlooked because our timeframe of reference is so short. and I mean: people don’t remember two years ago. And so we think that shows build audiences overnight. And aside from Worlds Beyond Number, they don’t. And Worlds Beyond Number, in turn, isn’t an overnight success. It had been in development for well over a year, and those cast owners had been doing this work, and their producer had been doing this work for years prior to that. And prior to even Dimension 20, Brennan Lee Mulligan has been Dungeon Mastering since he was a child.

He has devoted his life to roleplaying games in one form or another. That’s a lot. 

[01:09:52] Navaar: And have an audience already built in when Dimension 20 arrived! 

[01:09:56] Em: Yeah. ‘Cause Wayfinder, the summer camp that he worked at — works at, is still is affiliated with! There’s going to be a book — I’m not going to write it, but somebody’s going to write this book one day — about the Wayfinder experience and the way it’s been such a cradle for TTRPG.

Because it’s where Jay Dragon of Yazeba’s and Possum Creek more broadly is, you know, kind of, you know, earning their stripes and all kinds of things. But yeah, I mean, roots grow deep in the dark. And I think that it’s a combination of some people who, this is the current hotness for building a kind of visible portfolio of streaming content. Which is valid, understandable, not gonna critique it. But again, not gonna critique it. ‘Cause it is beyond the scope of kind of what we’re talking about when we’re talking about this as an art form. And so you’ve got a fair amount of that. 

But also you do have people who have genuine ambitions, and they don’t know that either rocket fuel was added through money you can’t see or the work was happening for many years in one form or another prior to what seems like the overnight success.

And I think we’re like, we’re used to that in everything else, generally speaking. But, you know, that the Grammy Best New Artist has been a working songwriter in L. A. for decades, but somehow it just, with Actual Play, there’s the sense, there’s always the sense — and it’s also the fault of the media. The Rolling Stone has much to justify for –it discovered actual play this year, having previously written about Actual Play multiple times.

But yeah, so it’s one of the reasons why I keep saying like, this has a history and we need to, to talk about it and write about it. And that it’s two decades old at minimum, not counting the stuff that was happening offline before that. To note that we’ve seen a lot of technological changes, all this kind of stuff, and we’ll see more. 

But it’s hard when the folk — we’re talking about a form that is dominated by people my age, and I am 42. And we’ve got aspirants in the space who are literally half our age. And that’s tricky, right? Because you kind of have… this is completely different worlds, completely different understandings of everything. And neither is wrong or bad, but it’s literally different worlds.

Financial Realities of Career Actual Play 

[01:12:31] Navaar: It’s fascinating to think about. I have quite a few friends that are like, in their early twenties who are just like, this is their thing that they’re going after. And here I am at 35, like… “I enjoy doing this!” Yeah. 

[01:12:44] Em: I think about — Brooke Aaron Duffy wrote a book, which was based on research from like a decade ago, so 2015 to 2018. The book’s called Not Getting Paid to Do What You Love. And it’s a book on mostly Instagram fashion influencers, and then bloggers cause that was when blogs were big. And one of the things that Duffy argues and has argued in their subsequent research, which is still about kind of influencer and content creator culture is: the choices that we’re describing these Gen Z folks making are completely logical in the illogics of late-stage capitalism, right?

If you know that like, if every pathway that allows you to have a creative life is kind of screwed over, why not try? You might as well try while you hold down, you know, whatever job you can get. You know, it’s a rational act, even though it seems — it’s easy to criticize going all in on Actual Play or content creation or something like that as an irrational act. I mean, it’s no less irrational than going to grad school. 

[01:13:50] Navaar: Yeah, literally. 

[01:13:52] Em: It’s just, it’s just differently socially constructed. 

[01:13:55] Navaar: Yeah. 

[01:13:56] Esther: I have a couple thoughts. 

[01:13:57] Em: Yay! 

[01:13:58] Esther: To, to bring it back to Pathfinder. Well, the first one is — like, I think it plugs back into Pathfinder ultimately.

But my first one is, listeners of the show may know that my professional life recently has been in religion and being a clergyperson. And before that I did several things, one of which was run a tiny nonprofit that I had to fundraise for. And many of my, the people I’ve learned a lot from, have talked about this problem of funding in the the space of activism, nonprofits, organizing. And one of my idols in the space, Mariame Kaba, talks a lot on social media about how nobody wants to talk about where the money comes from. And, when I was in grad school, when I was in seminary, we had a guest speaker at one of our symposia. And she has been in the work of organizing for social justice from a religious place for many years, and was asked the question, you know, how is this sustainable? How do we do this long-term? And I will never forget her answer, which was very practical and was like, “I’m going to be real with you. A lot of this work gets sustained through wealthy partners of people who want to do this work.” And it stuck with me because of the realness, because that’s the place through sheer luck I have landed in life, married to a wonderful person whose earning potential is a sickening number of times greater than my own based on our interests.

And I think that I see a lot of parallels with the AP space in just the questions about who has the money, where does the money flow, and how, currently, is this sustainable, and how do we imagine it being sustainable in different ways? 

The other thing I wanted to say is in response to this beautiful musing on the potential of AP as art and, and doing creative things, bringing new ideas and new ways of making this art into the space– one of the critiques I have for Pathfinder APs, including my own, is that I think there isn’t as much of that as I would like to see.

Now, An Unwavering Force is doing amazing things. I like to think Chromythica is doing some cool stuff, but I look at what we have done, and I think, “Oh, there could be even more room to experiment, to do these things that will draw in new audiences!” 

And there are a lot of Pathfinder APs out there that are a lot of white guys. I say that with love to the white guys, the white queers, but there’s a lot of us in the space. And my question to, to all of us, both making and consuming APs, is how can we be opening that and expanding that and not just making more room at a table, but looking to the tables that already exist that are trying to make this art and saying, what can we do to support them and to bring this more to the center, more to folks attention?

So yeah, that, that’s where it took me, just wondering about the future of Pathfinder-specific APs and how they can, how we can construct more experimental art. 

[01:17:23] Em: Yeah, it’s interesting to think about. Choosing targets for support, I think, is, is really, really interesting, precisely because the first thing that flashed through my head as you were talking, right, is like, the differences in the recent crowdfunding campaigns for Actual Plays.

So famously, Wizards of the Coast stops funding Rivals of Waterdeep, famously an all-BIPOC production that had been running a good long time. And its crowdfund does not succeed, and so the show is not able to finish on its own terms. And now, of course, it’s being run on the D&D TV channel, which meant Wizards actually had to go back and pay because they had to pay for TV- acceptable captions. Fun fact! 

And then I think about– one of the things I noticed about the Acquisitions Incorporated TV series crowdfund, which is that something like around a dozen people donated a thousand dollars or more. Their highest tiers were multiple thousands of dollars, which meant that they had an audience. And that’s not surprising, right, given the particular demographics.

It’s an older Actual Play, it’s an Actual Play that’s been fronted — that was originally a bunch of white dudes, not anymore, but has been for, quite some time — that they would have folks with that kind of disposable income to throw around in ways that, you know, other Actual Plays don’t.

You know, we joke about the same five dollars going around to everybody. And that’s definitely one of the challenges once we start talking about art made for smaller segments of a population, and historically less cash rich, either by virtue of the kinds of work that they take or by virtue of their age or by virtue of historical patterns of injustice or things like that.

And that’s a real sticking point. And so either you get the kind of platforming that facilitates that, and so we can think about that part of Worlds Beyond Number is an, is a majority — aside from Brennan and their backstage labor, Taylor Moore — that is a, you know, a BIPOC cast and a queer cast. And they’re able to come to prominence in no small part because of the kind of platforming of, you have seen Aabria on everything. You have seen Erika on everything. Erika is also a video game voice, but like, let’s be honest, it’s Actual Play that makes Erika Ishii visible in these kinds of ways. And Lou Wilson’s, late-night TV show fans are not the ones who are, who are investing in Worlds Beyond Number. 

And so there is a certain amount of that kind of boosting that’s coming from the bigger shows. DesiQuest obviously has a symbiotic relationship by virtue of Jasmine Bhullar’s relationship with both Dimension20 and even more strongly Penny Arcade and Acquisitions Incorporated.

But that’s a scenario where, of course you’re always talking about it as power flowing from these big shows and not a grassroots kind of effort. And then it continues the built-in assumption that I think is insidious, which is the kowtowing to the imagined power of something like Critical Role, Penny Arcade, or Dimension 20. I don’t know that there’s a whole lot more of that kind of boosting that is possible. I mean, for example, it seems clear that Luis Carrazzo, Christian Navarro, and Anjali Bhimani, who have all appeared many times on Critical Role, are doing something.

They’re talking about it without talking about it on social media all over the place. It seems very likely that they are trying to launch an Actual Play a lá Worlds Beyond Number. They have previously all appeared on a Shadowrun Actual Play miniseries that did not go well. One, Shadowrun, very hard. Two, production was iffy. It was not what it should have been. So it’s going to be interesting, right? To see, again, this is an all — another kind of majority-minority project by those people you saw on Critical Role, none of whom, interestingly, are known for being Dungeon Masters. I mean, not to say that Luis isn’t capable of doing so, but it’ll be very interesting to see how that literally plays.

And I think that’s going to be the next test, right? Is like, was Worlds Beyond Number a fluke? Can that success be replicated? If so, then it becomes — oh god, then Critical Role is potentially like this kind of incubator, which is what they want to be, right? Like, speaking as a 42-year-old, I can very much sympathize with the like, “I’m tired. I don’t want to do this necessarily forever in quite the way that I do it” kind of notion of being at that particular life stage. And so if we’ve got that kind of second proof of concept then, it becomes all the more incumbent for places like Critical Role to platform more people of color, and not the same ones over and over again.

I mean, I don’t know. I’m curious about that. because the alternative is you do grassroots, but you’ve got to build it to a bigger scale, and that’s really tricky. And yeah, I have a lot of curiosities about how this is all gonna, as we say, play out.

[01:23:12] Navaar: As listeners of my interview with Em on Secret Nerd Podcast know, we could go on forever. But we probably should not do that for the sake of podcasting. However, as always, an absolute pleasure. 

[01:23:27] Em: Yes. 

[01:23:27] Navaar: Incredible to have you on. 

[01:23:28] Em: Yay! 

[01:23:29] Navaar: Incredible to get your thoughts. I told you recently that I love getting your thoughts on this stuff and that still stands true. Unless Esther has another question? 

Concluding

[01:23:35] Esther: I was going to say, we always ask folks: where can we find you online? What are you working on right now? 

[01:23:41] Em: Sure! So I, for over half my life, I have owned my little corner of the internet at www.ecfriedman — that’s fried man — .com. That’s actually where you really wanna go these days, because that is where I’m keeping a blog.

You can sign up, even with a burner email if you so choose, and get access. Each month I’m gonna be reviewing an Actual Play from some part of the wild history of the form, thinking about not just the kind of “would you want to watch or listen to this,” but also thinking about where it fits in the history, potential frictions, things like that. So the first one I did, very weirdly, was When Shut Up and Sit Down, best known for board game reviews, tried their hand at Actual Play when Actual Play was just getting started in 2014. Uh, it didn’t go well, but I found myself thinking about the ways in which it did and didn’t go well, and why they chose a different path.

This month, in the spirit of love and Valentine’s Day, I’m gonna rip apart an Actual Play that made me so angry I’m forcing myself to listen to more of it, and then I swear I’m gonna be more measured from there on out. But yeah, so this is me experimenting with different ways of what we’re doing, what we’ve been talking about tonight, which is talking and taking seriously Actual Plays.

And I’ve already gotten one unhinged, message from somebody in Twitter DMs, both asking for coverage, but not to be reviewed on my blog. Yeah. So my new favorite litmus test is, if you don’t want me to reviewing you on your blog, that tells me something about how you think about your work.

I digress. You can find me on the thing that I still call Twitter, because we deadname corporations, @ friede, that’s F R I E D E. You can also find me with that same handle on Bluesky. And you can find me on YouTube vlogging about teaching games and other nerdy stuff as CriticalProf, which is also my handle on Instagram.

[01:25:43] Esther: Amazing. 

[01:25:45] Navaar: You can find me on social media at N A V A A R S N P, like Secret Nerd Podcast. You can find the podcast wherever you pod, um, and you can find the Secret Nerd Podcast on Twitter @SecretNRDSocial. Check out the podcast right now, because I took a year off, even though I said brief hiatus for a long time, and came back swinging. So, we have an excellent discussion about audio editing in Actual Play. 

[01:26:09] Em: It’s so good, guys. I made my students listen. 

[01:26:13] Navaar: Thank you. And we immediately kicked off an Actual Play after that, that I spend 20 to 25 hours an episode editing. So, if you love horror and survival and you’re a fan of The Last of Us, uh, you should listen to it.

I won’t explain how to play the game. 

[01:26:32] Em: You explain the dice a little! 

[01:26:33] Navaar: But you can still enjoy the entertainment! A little bit, but yeah. Anyway, yeah, it’s very much a narrative story about three survivors, technically. So check it out. That’s all for me. 

[01:26:46] Esther: Amazing. Um, Emily, thank you again so much for coming on the show.

It has been a delight. I have learned so much as always. 

You can find me everywhere online @dungeonminister. And more importantly, you can find Know Direction online @KnowDirection, primarily on Bluesky, YouTube, and Mastodon, and at our Discord server, which you are welcome to join and chat with us about Pathfinder and many other TTRPG and life things. 

[01:27:17] Em: And we will play, maybe we will play, Pathfinder at Big Bad Con this fall. 

[01:27:23] Navaar: Yes! 

[01:27:25] Esther: Absolutely. 

[01:27:26] Em: Yay! 

[01:27:28] Esther: I would really love that. 

​ 

Look, I know ‘getting weird with it’ is pretty much the default state of this blog, but we’re getting weird with getting weird. I’m not holding back for politeness’ sake. We’re going on a field trip to the shoggoth puppy mill and you’re gonna hear about every single step of the process. This isn’t a content warning; this is a content guarantee.

Hello and welcome to Eldritch Excursion, the blog that breeds mechanics in the den of flavor. Today we’re going to examine my favorite monster in all of Pathfinder. If you’re not the sort to look at Xenomorph reproductive cycles with fond regards then this is your last chance to click away and get back to funny goblins and friendly memes.

Here’s one last wholesome vibe for the road.

The Drakainia

I’ve mentioned before in previous articles that I like it when a monster’s abilities can inform its lore and vice versa. One key ability can shift a monster’s position within a story’s narrative and even the very tone of that story. With that in mind, I’d like you to take a look at the Drakainia from the first edition of Pathfinder. Give it a read and get back to me. Take your time, take it all in. I’ll wait.

What we have is a massive, bloated broodmother who has the capability to produce any creature within the bestiary within the fleshy forge of her own body. The imagery of such ‘summoning’ abilities certainly sets the tone for some surface level body horror in the middle of a fight. And such an unsettling notion only grows more sinister when you realize your own character can be used as an external incubator for some explosive results.

The Implications

But let’s look beyond the surface-level squick on display. Let’s consider the entity herself. The bestiary entry is frustratingly short on any backstory or motivation for this monster. In fact, I’m not entirely sure if the Drakainia is a singular being or an entire species. For a creature with a CR in the mid 20’s, this leaves a vast amount of room for speculation.

If we derive story from the mechanics, we see that the Drakainia contains a great genetic potential. She (or they?) can produce nearly any form of life in this world or any other. Such an ability is frustrating enough for any GM who wants to run her as a boss encounter, but the open-ended nature also suggests she has access to all forms of life, natural or otherwise. How did she come by this raw essence? Is the Drakainia some ancient, primordial being that was there at the dawn of all life? Is it part of an entire species that assimilates genetic material to remake worlds as they desire? Are any of my long-term readers getting a sense of déjà vu when they think about it?

And let’s not ignore that challenge rating of 25 with the 10 levels of Mythic, either. The highest level that a playable mortal being can reach is level 20. Mythic is the main mechanic to ascend beyond those limitations, and 10 is the highest you can go. And this is the rarest of the rare, the cream of the crop. This is the level where PCs are capable dealing directly with deities and going toe to toe with demon lords, where ascension into godhood might be on the table. And here we have Octomom’s Revenge just casually relaxing on that peak with a few extra levels under her belt.

This baffles me. It utterly befuddles me. This is the kind of creature that you write an epic level adventure path about. The Drakainia has all the power to be a major player in the games of the divine, and being the master if some great monster kingdom is hardly outside of her grasp. She could spawn an entourage of epic monsters over a three-day weekend. Her aura of gestation means that she could create a whole army through multiple generations the following week. And as I assume a creature of boundless life energy probably lives for a really long time, she can probably create endgame- level spawn with a minor investment and some patience, depending on how mythic levels factor into her breeding capabilities.

Sometimes I wonder if Lamashtu is only still a goddess because the Drakainia couldn’t be bothered to rise up and take it from her. She’s almost better in every way, from her more worldly presence to her aberrant nature adding to that viscerally alien feel of an omni capable well of life. I’m telling you. Her whims can move nations.

The Implementations

So how does one make use of such a world-defining creature, with its limitless narrative potential? Normally, this is about the point where I would show off some deftly-crafted conversion that brings this monster into the mechanics of 2nd edition. But honestly? I don’t think I could do her justice. I don’t think 2nd edition could do her justice. This is the kind of monster you use as an aspect of the world, as a key pillar of the setting, not as some stat block to hit with a sword. There is far too much potential to just throw it away for the sake of a canned villain monologue and a half-dozen combat rounds.

No, I have something much better in mind.

Your daydream is rudely interrupted by a call from Mother. A deep, bellowing call echoing from the cave-home where She had made your family’s den. And Mother’s call is not one to be ignored. You still remember the hot summer day that you and your immediate family were just too tired to respond with anything resembling urgency. That was when Mother decided to come to you, and unfortunately for your grandfather, She arrived through the red ribbons of his exploding torso.

He may have been your elder by just a couple of weeks, but he was technically your grandfather. You still miss him.

You gesture with your elven hand, articulating the urgency with one of your arachnid limbs, directing your kin towards the den. Your orcish brother is the first to respond, his left head snapping awake even as his right head does all it can to remain asleep. Your sister, a diminutive creature of an insectoid heritage even she does’t understand, murmurs a complaint before flying off in that direction.

It isn’t the meetings with Mother that bother you. It’s that squirming pile of cultists that she always keeps around her. And more precisely, their smell. How did She put it? ‘I got bored making my own chaff, so I have them do it for me.’

And that’s it for now. If you’re still here, thanks for reading. I hope you can see just how much you can do with this insanely powerful creature. Come back next time and I’ll have player character options for those who want to play as the spawn of a Drakainia and gain benefits from the resulting mutations.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring:

David Abelson – Guest

Danielle Reynolds – Host

Listen Now!(mp3)

The GM is Ron Lundeen, an employee of Wizards of the Coast, whose opinions are his own.

Thanks to sophisticated subliminal radio wave technology*, listening to Pathfinder R.E.M.Master while you sleep fills your head with all the information you need to run the perfect Pathfinder session.

Tracks include:

• System Mastery
• Setting Tutorial
• Descriptive Descriptions
• Yes, And Like A Pro
• 101 NPC Voices
• 101 More NPC Voices, But Silly This Time
• How Magic Works In Pathfinder
• How Magic Works In Real Life
• Glossary of “No, that was 1e/pre-Remaster/never in Pathfinder” Terms
• Oh, What The Heck, 101 More NPC Voices

Listen to the track you need the most help with on repeat or play Pathfinder R.E.M.Master from beginning to end to learn GMing Pathfinder like Keanu Reeves learned kung fu.

*Paizo promises to never use this technology for evil, or, through inaction, allow evil to be done with it. Pathfinder R.E.M.Master is purely a tool to make you a better GM through good vibes. Afterall, you can’t spell Game Master without ASMR.

Listen Now! (mp3)

Featuring Letter From Snake Eyes part 4, generously provided by Wordburglar. Check it and other amazing 80s-inspired out at Wordburglar.com.

Although the hosts both work for Renegade Game Studios in some capacity, this podcast and the network that hosts it are not affiliated with Renegade Game Studios.

In the ever-evolving world of Pathfinder 2E, I am thrilled to have in hand Paizo’s latest release:  Pathfinder Monster Core.  By the time of this article, you can too peruse its pages and let the creatures therein captivate you with the latest treasure from the illustrious Remaster line.  This tome promises not just an expansion of the creatures that players can encounter but also introduces a slew of improvements and adjustments that refine the Pathfinder2E experience.  There’s brand new art and brand new Lost Omens lore too!  So, grab your dice, and let’s delve into what makes the Monster Core a critical update for adventurers and GMs alike!

More Accessible!

From the moment you crack open the Monster Core, it’s evident that Paizo has taken feedback to heart, implementing style guide changes that catch the eye even on the Introduction page. The immediate standout is right there at the top with the introduction banner sporting a fresh look that sets the tone for the pages to follow.  They’ve brought that Remaster feel here, but it’s more and more evident of stylistic changes that set the tone going forward. Gone is the papyrus-like beige that once served as the background, replaced now by a crisp white canvas that breathes a sense of clarity into every page.  Navigating the book has been made more intuitive, with the table of contents on the right now boasting easier-to-read callouts, ensuring you can quickly find the creature or section you need without the fuss. Another example is the “Reading Creature Statistics” headline, which has undergone a transformation, featuring a different font that eschews the all-caps of its predecessor for a more accessible reading experience.  Accessibility and inclusivity have clearly been prioritized, as seen with the addition of Content Warnings sections. This thoughtful inclusion warns of creatures tied to specific subjects that might be sensitive for some players, covering topics like alcohol/drugs, body horror, gore, and torture. It’s a considerate touch that allows game masters and players to tailor their adventures, ensuring everyone at the table feels comfortable and engaged.

More Monsters!

In terms of content, the Monster Core is hefty, coming in at 357 pages for the creatures, beating out the Pathfinder2E Bestiary of 341.  Total with other monstrous detail and organizational tables Core has 372 pages before backmatter, slightly outpacing the original Pathfinder Bestiary. But it’s not just about quantity; the quality and diversity of creatures have seen a significant enhancement. Among the notable changes are the alterations to dragons, a topic of much discussion across social media and prefaced in various forms over the last few months. Paizo has revisited these majestic creatures, tweaking them in ways that promise to impact gameplay and storytelling by focusing on the lore of them.  Interacting with each is bound to feel quite different from the steadfast Adamantine Dragon who are a form of primal, skymetal dragon focused on their purpose.  Meanwhile the Omen Dragon (above) is one of the occult with mirror-like membranes to their wings that offer a glimpse into the future.  Considering those visions could be shared with anyone – Omen dragons don’t care – there’s a lot of story opportunity!

Of course, Monster Core doesn’t shy away from evolution, as the Remaster line is certainly about leaving the OGL behind and embracing the ORC.  They’ve replaced the golem family in general with various other constructs.  Now the clay golem has become the clay effigy.  They’ve bid farewell to the adamantine golem, replaced with the formidable Aolaz.  I love that there’s a nice lore sidebar about how the Aolaz are from the Jitska Imperium. Gone is the blanket immunity to magic too with a few options the best choice to use.  There’s still hefty resistance to physical and spells, but like in the case of the Clay Effigy that telekinetic strike that couldn’t work before will work (albeit the physical resistance 10) or you should focus on spells of cold, earth, and water to ignore the spells resistance of 10.  The Aolaz?  No resistance to spells but more immunities to things like sonic, spirit, and more.

The crimson worm has transformed into the magma worm, reflecting a shift towards more thematic and visually compelling creatures.  Perhaps the most exciting aspect for new GMs while surprising long-time fans is the inclusion of creatures not found in the original Bestiary. The Norn from Bestiary 2, the Scarecrow from Bestiary 2, the Serpentfolk from Bestiary 2, and the Tooth Fairy from Bestiary 3 (just to name a few) have all found their way into the Monster Core. For those craving something old but new again, there’s the Pipefox (pictured at top) though it was listed as a familiar option in Grand Bazaar.  Meanwhile the Bogwid (above) makes its debut in Pathfinder 2E, adding an extra layer of danger to your swampy adventures.  The whole ravenous young that launch themselves at a target to feed is disturbing and awesome.  Sorry players!

More Updates!

The dev team at Paizo has also made numerous stat adjustments to the creatures within the Monster Core, ensuring that the balance and challenge of encounters remain engaging for players of all levels. These tweaks are a testament to Paizo’s commitment to refining their game, responding to community feedback, and enhancing the Pathfinder 2E experience.  I assume various errata have been woven in.  For example the giant scorpion’s AC has been fixed in a minor but meaningful way.  Obviously languages have been updated and damage types changed to void, vitality, etc.  The Creature 10 Rakshasa, now the Raja-Krodha, has more than a few fixes to its stats.  I also noted that the Creature 5 Dandasuka isn’t in Monster Core, instead it’s the Creature 1 Raktavarna.  Guess we’ll see the Dandasuka updated in Monster Core 2? Which reminds me I wanted to call out the vampire mastermind art changed from a masc, deranged looking vampire to a femme, beautifully gowned vampire.  I’m imagining that’s to accentuate the social manipulator aspect but there’s new art woven all throughout the book, some of it from various books already published.  It’s also possible because Vampire Mastermind became Rare instead of Uncommon.  A number of rarities shifted for creatures too.

More News!

Also in exciting news, the tabletop community has shown its support for creativity and Luck of the Harbor with the new game Warrenguard funding at over 400%! It’s a vibrant reminder of the passion and enthusiasm that players and creators alike bring to the tabletop world. I’ve gotten to playtest it a few times, and eagerly backed it. I can’t wait to see what kind of rider archetype we get from Jay Dragon as well as the additional art and lore!

The Monster Core is a wonderful update.  It’s a gateway to new adventures, teeming with creatures that challenge, terrify, and enchant. Paizo’s dedication to improving accessibility, along with their commitment to expanding and refining the game’s content, is clearly on display in this latest offering. Whether you’re a seasoned game master or a curious newcomer, the Monster Core promises to be an indispensable addition for you to invest in for your Pathfinder 2E collection.

Investing In:

I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!

I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!

Sources

Banner – Pathfinder Monster Core cover, Paizo

1. Backmatter excerpt, Pathfinder Monster Core, Paizo
2. Pipefox, Pathfinder Monster Core, Paizo
3. Omen Dragon, Pathfinder Monster Core, Paizo
4. Bogwid, Pathfinder Monster Core, Paizo
5. Vampire Mastermind, Pathfinder Monster Core, Paizo
6. Back cover, Pathfinder Monster Core, Paizo

Recap of March 18th to 22nd

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

What happened last week on knowdirectionpodcast.com and twitch.tv/knowdirection?

Block 1 of our 2-block schedule.

Monday, March 18th

Podcast

Intrepid Heroes 128 – It’s a Miracle

What kind of budget miracle are our Intrepid Heroes dealing with?

Tuesday, March 19th

Podcast

Game Design Unboxed 85: Mission to Planet Hexx

Danielle talks with Jim Fitzpatrick about his tile-laying space exploration game, Mission to Planet Hexx.

Article

Eldritch Excursion – Riding on a Pale Gundam
By Nate Wright

I don’t know if everyone calls using technology to raise the dead “mechromancy”, but my life is better now that Nate’s introduced me to the term.

Thursday, March 21st

Podcast

Digital Divination 105 – Anti-Heroes and Villains

THEM: “Hey man, you wanna join my RPG campaign full of western tropes where we play as outlaws?”
ME: “Nah, I’m good.”
THEM: “We’ll mix them into a sci-fi setting and play as anti-hero space cowboys.”
ME: “I’m in.”

Friday, February 23rd

Article

Essential Builds – Leonardo of Grayskull
By Ryan Costello

If Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a baby, this would be the Leonard/He-Man in an Essence20 game based on it.

Preview of March 25th to 29th

Monday, March 25th

Article

Now You Know – March 18th to 29th
By Ryan Costello

Wednesday, March 27th

Twitch

Know Direction Beyond 83 Live: Enhanced Envoy

Alex and James look at the Starfinder Enhanced version of the Envoy.

Thursday, March 28th

Article

Investing In
By Rob Pontious

Rob shares what he loves about the RPGs he’s been playing lately, and why you should check them out.

Friday, March 29th

Podcast

Upshift 031 – Decepticon Directive

Ryan and Jason look through one of the last Essence20 RPG sourcebooks Jason developed on, Transformers Roleplaying Game Decepticon Directive.

Now you know,
Ryan Costello