Haphazard Slash (Combat)
Sometimes you just need to get that last hit in there to not die! It might not be pretty, it might not even be graceful, but if the other guy is dead, later in the bar it can be the most amazing attack ever swung!
Benefit: When you make a full attack, you can gain one extra attack at your lowest attack bonus – 5. This may result in a negative attack bonus. Add all other modifiers to this last attack as normal.
Thoughts?
Product-Pathfinder Player Companion: Melee Tactics Toolbox
System– Pathfinder
Producer– Paizo
Price– $12 here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601257325?keywords=melee%20tactics%20toolbox&qid=1444860587&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
TL; DR– a one-feat-book 77%
Basics-Why do it from afar when you can hurt them up close! Melee Tactics Toolbox provides every up close and personal character with several new options ranging from spells, items, feats, class options, and even new archetypes much live every other player companion product.
Mechanics or Crunch-This is a major crunch book for players, but I wasn’t amazed. There are several new options, but nothing here immediately made me want to build a character based around that theme. Some of the new options seem like new expectations just for expansion sake as the archetypes underwhelmed me like the rogue archetype that strips out all the rogue powers that make a rogue a rogue. Nothing here is objectively bad, but it’s not as amazing as I expected. 4/5
Theme or Fluff-This book has a bit of theme, but not as much as I wanted. You get a few bits and pieces but not near as much as the world books the Paizo puts out. It feels light. 3.5/5
Execution– This book has a ton it it, but it feels a bit overstuffed. There are many things in the book, but it feels a bit like things were thrown in because of the melee thing and that was the sole reason that they made the cut. So, things didn’t flow as well as other books. Also, much of the execution was a bit off as there were a few too many walls of text to really draw me into and through the book. But, as a counterpoint, the book does have a nice font, decent layout aside from a few too many text walls, and some nice art. However, as a counterpoint to that, the book still has the standard Paizo price for its splatbooks which is a little high anyway. 4/5
Summary-This is my least favorite Paizo Pathfinder book to date. Overall, it’s not a horrible book, but compared to Paizo’s other products, I wouldn’t suggest you start with this one. Honestly, this is a one-feat-book meaning that you will find exactly one thing from this book that might, sometimes, help you PFS character. And, you will buy it so you can show your PFS GM the feat/spell/item, so you can legally use it in your game. But, truth be told, you can pass this book by and be ok even if you are a greatsword only fighter. Too many options that are not worth the price, little world and character story, and a less than stellar execution make this a book that won’t find its way into many Pathfinder collections. 77%
Most simply see red, but you only see black.
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Prerequisites: rage, level 5.Benefit: Whenever you enter a rage, you can spend two rounds of rage instead of one for each round. If you spend the extra round, increase your strength and constitution by +8 instead of +4.
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Thoughts?
You can dabble as a bloodrager from a sorcerer, but let’s build on that a bit.
Improved Raging Blood
You strengthen the rage in your soul, fueling the fire in your heart.
Prerequisite: Raging Blood, 8th level
Benefit: You gain a 4th level bloodline power from the same bloodline as the one you selected when you took Raging Blood. Increase the number of rounds you can be in a bloodrage by 2, and the bloodrage you can enter is exactly the same as a normal Bloodrager with all the same penalties and bonuses provided by the bloodrage ability.
Thoughts?
Just finished the Pathfinder book Advanced Class Guide, and I have a few ideas I’d like to see from it. Here is one for the Arcanist.
Schooled Sorcerer (Archetype)
You went to school like all other wizards did. You hit the books hard, learned from the masters, and showed great promise, but you also had something else up your sleeve-you were a closet sorcerer. You cultivated the talents in your own blood along side your own class-based studied.
Dual Focus(Su): At 1st level, a schooled Sorcerer chooses a school of magic and a bloodline. The arcanist also chooses either one to gain at a slower path. For the one progressing at a normal pace, the Schooled Sorcerer gains all the benefits as described for that school or bloodline. For the chosen ability gained at a slower pace, the Schooled Sorcerer gains the benefits of the school or bloodline as a wizard or sorcerer four levels lower than his or her actual level.
The archanist must select two additional schools of magic as opposition schools and has all the penalties of casting and preparing spells from those schools as a wizard would. This ability replaces the arcanist exploits gained at 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th level.
Thoughts?
Product– Advanced Class Guide
System– Pathfinder
Producer– Paizo Publishing
Price– $ 40 here http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-RPG-Advanced-Class-Adventure/dp/160125671X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442939514&sr=8-1&keywords=advanced+class+guide
TL; DR– This books walks the balance, mostly. 90%
Basics-Why not a wizard/sorcerer? Why not a ranger/rogue? The Advanced Class Guide is the book to make that happen. This book has 10 new classes, archetypes for almost every class, feats, and new spells. This book is a giant resource of new ideas and abilities for the Pathfinder RPG focusing on hybrids of the other classes. Here are the new 10 classes and the classes they come from:
Arcanist (wizard/sorcerer)
Bloodrager (barbarian/sorcerer)
Brawler (fighter/monk)
Hunter (druid/ranger)
Investigator (alchemist/rogue)
Shaman(oracle/witch)
Skald(barbarian/bard)
Slayer(ranger/rogue)
Swashbuckler(fighter/gunslinger)
Warpriest(cleric/fighter)
Mechanics or Crunch-This book has a hard job here, but it does it pretty well. Every one of the new classes feels balanced if a little more powerful than the original classes. It’s a fine line to walk, but overall it did it well. Sometimes a few concepts are thrown in that muddy the water, without adding as much as you would expect. A key example is panache, grit, and luck. All three of these subsystems are almost exactly the same with characters gaining any combination of the three are able to combine the three into one giant pool. That’s good for theme, but bad and confusing when players have to build characters. The other extra additions like feats to splash new half classes into the original classes are done well, and the new archetypes and spells all feel fresh and new. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff-This isn’t a book full of stores for the world of Golarion, but it does have some fluff. Each class has a bit of story to it that helps introduce and mold the class and its use. However, the stories are in a bit of a vacuum. What’s there is great, but this book is designed to be plugged into any world. It works well in that respect, but it’s a bit sterile. Other books from Paizo focus on the story of each class in Paizo’s world, but this book doesn’t really do that. 4/5
Execution– It’s Paizo-they know how to make a book. Maybe a few more pictures, but for the amount of information, it reads quick and is entertaining. Paizo-they make good books! 5/5
Summary-I liked this book, but as the system grows, it get’s a little heavy and unwieldy. This book adds an astounding amount to the system and keeps it all in balance relatively well. This is not a book to build stories off of though as what’s here is ok, but think of the addition in this book more like Legos-no real ideas by themselves, but together and with your own imagination they become awesome creations. As for the book itself, it’s a Paizo book, so it’s done well. If you want more character options in your pathfinder game, this is most definitely an awesome addition to your game but something that might upset the power level a bit. 90%
I love Power Attack, but I’d like to go in reverse. Let’s see what we can do.
I like Clustered Shots for Pathfinder. We can do that in melee too!
You’ve learned to strike hard and deep instead of the sloppy cuts of an amateur.
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Prerequisites: Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, base attack bonus +6. Benefit: When you use a full-attack action to make multiple melee weapon attacks against the same opponent, total the damage from all hits before applying that opponent’s damage reduction. Special: If the massive damage optional rule is being used, that rule applies if the total damage you deal with this feat is equal to or exceeds half the opponent’s full normal hit points (minimum 50 points of damage). |
Thoughts?
Product– Familiar Folio
System– Pathfinder
Producer– Paizo Publishing
Price– $12.99 here http://paizo.com/products/btpy9au2?Pathfinder-Player-Companion-Familiar-Folio
TL; DR– Useful if you already like familiars. 88%
Basics-Every great wizard has a familiar, why can’t you! Familiar Folio is a Pathfinder Player Companion book discussing familiars, how to add them to new characters, and how to improve them. Like every other book in the companion line, it adds new feats, archetypes, items, spells, and other options for players and their familiar’s alike.
Mechanics or Crunch-This book is amazing, if you already like familiars. This book won’t really win you over if you didn’t already have a character concept for familiars. Every option added in this book is great, but familiars tend to work just like alchemy in Pathfinder, great if you love them, bad if you don’t. After seeing what’s here, I can say that if I played a character who wanted a familiar, I’d absolutely want what’s here. However, if I played someone who had the options of not having one vs having one, I don’t think this book would win me over to the familiar side, even with a mascot (familiar). 4.25/5
Theme or Fluff- This book discusses some of the story aspects of familiars, but it doesn’t really go out of its way to add them in deeper. The book covers topics like how to roleplay with them, and it does have a bit of how different locations in Golarion would use familiars and the types in those locations. But, it’s not much beyond that. This is primarily a crunch heavy book. 4/5
Execution-This was put out by Paizo. For anything you can say about Paizo, the unarguable truth is they know how to make a book well. It’s got great art, great layout, and was a pleasure to read. 5/5
Summary-The simple question to this book is, “Will you use or want a familiar?” If you said yes, then you get this book. If not, then don’t. Like I said with alchemy, familiars are extremely divisive. You love your familiar, then you will love this book. If you couldn’t care less about your wizard friend’s odd toad in his pocket, then you don’t want this book. What this book is is well written, a bit light on story, but overall well put together. Just decide if you want a tag along before you begin. 88%
I want to scream at undead. I want them be made I’m screaming at them. I can make this happen!
Undead Hate the Living
You hate the undead, and they hate you!
Benefit(s): You may perform intimidate checks on undead enemies. However, you may only cause an undead to become shaken for one turn at most if it is normally immune to such effects.
Thoughts?
Throat Punch Games 