Pathfinder Unchained, the "Unearthed Arcana" of the Pathfinder RPG, full of what the designers describe as "crazy ideas" and various alternate rules, tweaks, and subsystems which will mod your game and change the way Pathfinder plays, hits store shelves later this month, and for my money is the most exciting Pathfinder release since the core rulebook! Lead designer Jason "Let us do a book filled with whatever crazy ideas we have floating around in our heads" Bulmahn and designer Mark Seifter offer some info about the variant Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner classes in the book.
The barbarian has less math-intensive abilities which adjust derived mechanics rather than the original stats, and gains temporary hit points rather than changing its maximum health.
The monk is more customizable, from kung fu to wuxia mystics, has a full base attack bonus, and some new martial arts strikes like flying kick.
The rogue has a new debilitation abilty, a rogues edge which offers unique uses for skills, and a boost to some rogue talents.
The summoner gains better focus and theme.
It's interesting how Paizo can look at existing classes and note their flaws. The original barbarian is "math-intensive"; the monk's abilities "don't always synergize" and are inflexible; the rogue "needed a way to rule her own niche"; and the summoner "lacks focus and theme". From that perspective, it feels a little more like the Unchained classes are designed to almost "fix" the originals.
You can click on the image for the full article.
The barbarian has less math-intensive abilities which adjust derived mechanics rather than the original stats, and gains temporary hit points rather than changing its maximum health.
The monk is more customizable, from kung fu to wuxia mystics, has a full base attack bonus, and some new martial arts strikes like flying kick.
The rogue has a new debilitation abilty, a rogues edge which offers unique uses for skills, and a boost to some rogue talents.
The summoner gains better focus and theme.
It's interesting how Paizo can look at existing classes and note their flaws. The original barbarian is "math-intensive"; the monk's abilities "don't always synergize" and are inflexible; the rogue "needed a way to rule her own niche"; and the summoner "lacks focus and theme". From that perspective, it feels a little more like the Unchained classes are designed to almost "fix" the originals.
You can click on the image for the full article.
