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Pathfinder RPG

Pathfinder 2 – Advanced Player’s Guide Playtest

Pathfinder 2 just came out at Gen Con this year and now we’re seeing some playtest ready materials for the Advanced Player’s Guide which is scheduled to be published July 2020. Pathfinder 2 released 12 classes in the Core Rulebook for launch, but the Advanced Player’s Guide promises to get other popular Pathfinder 1 classes into the hands of players. This release is similar to when previews from the Advanced Class Guide for Pathfinder 1 were released starting in May 2014, which started with Jirelle the Swashbuckler back then too. The original Pathfinder 1 Advanced Class Guide had 10 new base classes, feats, spells, magic items, and more… so it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect to see the same in July.

The playtest PDF provides the following 20 level classes:

  • The investigator is a savvy, street-smart character who takes cases to uncover clues and solve mysteries. This class ties to parts of the game that aren’t covered in depth in the Core Rulebook, so the playtest will see if their approach to solving mysteries is satisfying, while keeping the rules for the game as a whole flexible.
  • The oracle commands divine powers by drawing from universal concepts, casting powerful revelation spells that take a toll on their body and manifest as a double-edged curse. We want to make sure the curse effects are fun and engaging without disrupting the balance of the class compared to other characters. For the playtest, we’ve selected only a subset of mysteries, but there will be more in the final version.
  • The swashbuckler is the flamboyant daredevil of the battlefield, tumbling through foes and entering a heightened state to deliver devastating finishing blows. We’ll be testing a system that encourages them to gain panache, a state of bombastic flair that lets them use more powerful abilities. The playtest version emphasizes new rules specific to the class so that we can playtest those thoroughly, but the final version might pick up some of the fighter’s weapon feats suited to dueling.
  • The witch serves a mysterious patron entity, casting spells and hexes learned through a powerful familiar. This is the most flexible spellcasting class we’ve introduced, since it allows you to build your own path by selecting not only feats, but also lessons from your patron. We want to make sure those options work well both narratively and mechanically across all three of the spellcasting traditions the witch can gain access to.

Read the Full Story | Playtest Download (PDF)