advanced player’s guide

The Advanced Players Guide expands character options, introducing new ancestries, classes, and mechanics. It builds on the Core Rulebook, offering fresh possibilities for players seeking depth and variety.

Overview of the Guide

The Advanced Players Guide is a comprehensive sourcebook that expands on the core rules of Pathfinder. It introduces new ancestries, versatile heritages, and innovative classes like the Investigator, Oracle, Swashbuckler, and Witch. Players can explore fresh archetypes, feats, and spells, while delving into expanded equipment and magical item options. Designed to enhance customization, this guide offers tools for both players and GMs, ensuring deeper character development and richer storytelling. It is a must-have for those seeking to elevate their Pathfinder experience.

Key Features and New Content

The Advanced Players Guide introduces four new classes: Investigator, Oracle, Swashbuckler, and Witch, each offering unique playstyles. It expands ancestries with options like Catfolk, Kobold, Orc, Ratfolk, and Tengu, along with versatile heritages such as Changeling and Dhampir. New archetypes, including multiclass options, provide flexibility, while updated feats and spells enhance character customization. The guide also features expanded equipment and magical items, ensuring a richer, more dynamic Pathfinder experience for players and GMs alike.

Ancestries and Backgrounds

The Advanced Players Guide introduces new ancestries like Catfolk, Kobold, Orc, Ratfolk, and Tengu, each with unique traits. Versatile heritages and expanded backgrounds offer deeper customization and character depth.

New Ancestries: Catfolk, Kobold, Orc, Ratfolk, and Tengu

The Advanced Players Guide introduces five new ancestries, each with unique traits. Catfolk are curious, social felines, while Kobolds are clever, dragon-obsessed reptilians. Orcs embody strength and honor, Ratfolk are resourceful and communal, and Tengus are avian humanoids with a love for knowledge and treasure. Each ancestry offers distinct ability boosts and flaws, allowing players to craft diverse characters with rich backgrounds and traits.

versatile Heritages

Versatile heritages allow players to craft unique characters by blending ancestries with extraordinary backgrounds. Changelings, born of hags, face the call of their mothers, while dhampirs inherit vampiric traits. Planar scions, tied to celestial or fiendish bloodlines, offer diverse abilities. These heritages are not bound to specific ancestries, enabling creative combinations. They add depth to characters, blending cultural and supernatural elements seamlessly, and providing rich narrative opportunities for players to explore their origins and identities in the game. This system enhances customization and storytelling potential.

Classes

The Advanced Players Guide introduces four new classes: Investigator, Oracle, Swashbuckler, and Witch. Each offers unique mechanics, blending combat, magic, and skill-based playstyles for diverse character builds.

Investigator

The Investigator is a master of deduction and alchemy, blending detective work with arcane elements. Using Intelligence as their key ability, they excel at uncovering secrets and solving mysteries. With access to alchemical tools and a unique form of spellcasting, Investigators can craft potent elixirs and analyze clues to outwit foes. Their expertise lies in gathering information, disabling traps, and delivering precise strikes in combat. This versatile class combines intellectual prowess with hands-on problem-solving, making them invaluable in both exploration and battle scenarios. Their alchemical expertise and keen mind set them apart as a unique problem-solver in any party.

Oracle

The Oracle wields divine magic tempered by a supernatural curse, balancing powerful spells with unique challenges. Drawing upon Charisma, they channel revelations from mysterious sources, offering versatile support and offense. Oracles can specialize in different mysteries, such as battle, flames, or waves, each granting distinct abilities. Their cursed fate adds depth to their role, making them enigmatic figures on the battlefield. This class combines mysticism with adaptability, providing both healing and combat prowess while navigating the consequences of their divine connection.

Swashbuckler

The Swashbuckler is a charismatic and agile class that thrives on flair and precision. Relying on Dexterity, they earn panache through dramatic feats, which they can use to enhance their attacks or disorient foes. With a mix of acrobatics and swordplay, Swashbucklers are versatile combatants who excel at both dealing damage and outmaneuvering enemies. Their ability to perform dazzling displays makes them a captivating addition to any adventuring party, blending style with substance in every encounter.

Witch

The Witch is a mysterious spellcaster who derives their power from a magical familiar and a cryptic patron. Using Intelligence as their key ability, they cast a variety of spells and hexes to manipulate the battlefield and confound enemies. Witches can specialize in different patrons, each granting unique abilities and playstyles. Their familiars serve as both companions and conduits for their magic, making them versatile and formidable characters in both combat and out-of-combat scenarios.

Archetypes

Archetypes allow characters to adopt specific roles or enhance abilities, offering customization and unique playstyles. They can be multiclass or general, fitting various character builds and themes seamlessly.

Multiclass Archetypes

Multiclass archetypes enable hybrid playstyles, blending abilities from different classes. They provide flexible progression, allowing characters to combine disparate traditions seamlessly. These archetypes cater to creative builds, offering unique synergy between classes. Players can craft versatile characters by merging distinct abilities, enhancing adaptability in both combat and exploration. Multiclass archetypes are perfect for those seeking complex, dynamic characters with a rich array of skills and talents, making them a cornerstone of advanced character customization in the Advanced Players Guide.

General Archetypes

General archetypes offer versatile customization for any character, regardless of class. These archetypes provide diverse abilities, from combat enhancements to skill mastery. They allow players to craft unique roles, such as the Bard or Ranger, with tailored talents. Whether focusing on magic, martial prowess, or cunning, general archetypes empower players to create distinctive characters. They enhance adaptability and depth, making them invaluable for both new and seasoned players seeking to refine their characters in the Advanced Players Guide.

Feats and Spells

The Advanced Players Guide introduces a wide array of new feats and spells, enhancing character abilities and magical options. These expansions provide players with fresh ways to customize their characters, offering greater versatility in combat, exploration, and problem-solving. New general and skill feats, along with innovative spells, empower players to create unique and powerful characters tailored to their playstyle.

General and Skill Feats

The Advanced Players Guide introduces a variety of general and skill feats, offering players new ways to enhance their characters’ abilities. These feats provide versatility, allowing characters to excel in combat, exploration, and social interactions. From mastering specific skills to gaining unique combat maneuvers, these feats enable players to craft characters that stand out. Whether focusing on utility or combat prowess, the guide’s feats expand gameplay possibilities, ensuring each character is uniquely tailored to their playstyle. This section is a treasure trove for customization enthusiasts.

New Spells

The Advanced Players Guide introduces a wide array of new spells, enhancing gameplay versatility. From evokers to enchanters, these spells offer fresh strategies for every class. They include powerful combat spells, innovative utility options, and unique effects that expand magical possibilities. Whether summoning devastating elemental forces or crafting intricate illusions, these spells provide players with exciting tools to adapt to any scenario. The guide also includes rituals and focus spells, further enriching the magical landscape and empowering players to create memorable experiences. This addition ensures endless creativity in spellcasting.

Equipment and Items

The Advanced Players Guide expands your adventuring arsenal with new weapons, gear, and magical items. Discover innovative tools and treasures to enhance your character’s capabilities and storytelling.

Weapons and Adventuring Gear

The Advanced Players Guide introduces a wide array of new weapons and adventuring gear, offering greater versatility for players. From survival axes to explorer’s packs, these items enhance exploration and combat. Alchemical tools and specialized snares provide creative solutions for challenges. Magical gear and rare weapons add unique enchantments, allowing players to craft distinctive characters. This section ensures every adventurer finds the perfect equipment to suit their playstyle and story, enriching both utility and gameplay depth.

Magical Items

The Advanced Players Guide presents an extensive collection of magical items, each designed to enhance gameplay. From enchanted weapons to potent wands, these items offer unique abilities and strategic advantages. Rare and powerful artifacts cater to diverse playstyles, while intricate crafting rules allow players to create personalized items. This section also introduces new item categories, ensuring every character can find magical tools that align with their story and abilities, enriching both combat and role-playing experiences significantly.

Glossary

The glossary defines key terms and concepts from the Advanced Players Guide, ensuring clarity for both new and experienced players, enhancing gameplay understanding effectively.

Important Terms and Definitions

Key terms in the Advanced Players Guide include ancestry, defining a character’s heritage, and background, detailing their life before adventuring. Class determines abilities, while feats enhance skills. Spells are magical abilities, and magical items provide bonuses. Ability scores measure traits, and proficiency reflects skill mastery. Level indicates power progression, with experience points (XP) earned through challenges. These terms form the core of character creation and advancement in the Advanced Players Guide.

The Advanced Players Guide offers a wealth of options to enhance your Pathfinder RPG experience. With new ancestries, classes, archetypes, and feats, it provides endless possibilities for character customization. The guide also introduces fresh spells, equipment, and magical items, ensuring players can craft unique heroes. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a new player, this book empowers you to create unforgettable characters and embark on thrilling adventures. Dive in and unlock the full potential of your Pathfinder journey!

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