[PF] Occult Adventures

[Raven777]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136955-Paizo-Pathfinder-Occult-Adventures-Announced-Advanced-Class-Guide-Debuts-at-Gen-Con-2014


At their panel on Saturday night, Paizo also discussed their big new book for next year, titled Occult Adventures, which will be introducing a suite of new psychic and occult magics to the game. "It's a very pulpy book, full of conspiracy theories, new age inspired magic, and psychics," said Mona. "In some ways it's like The X-Files meets Pathfinder. THe book will contain six new classes, like a psychic and a kineticist. The kineticist, for example, is a Carrie or Firestarter-style psychic with telekinesis and pyrokinesis. The spiritualist, another class, will have the ability to communicate with the dead or project their consciousness in an ectoplasmic form. Those new classes will go into public playtesting "soon." Occult Adventures will also include a bestiary of monsters that fit the themes it uses.

Paizo was inspired to create Occult Adventures by the success of one of their strangest modules, a recent cross-dimensional adventure called Rasputin Must Die that saw fantasy heroes travelling to Earth in 1917 to take on machine gun wielding Russian soldiers in a quest to kill the mad monk. "We were really surprised by the fan reaction," said Mona. "We just made it because it was audacious, but everyone loved it." The same writer who did Rasputin, Brandon Hodge, will be working to make Occult Adventures just as lovably weird.

2015 will also see a new Pathfinder Adventure Path focused on insurgency against a hellish aristocracy, and another describing the races and ethnicities of the company's Golarion campaign world. Occult Adventures is Pathfinder's major release for 2015 and will debut at Gen Con 2015.

I wonder if this means Paizo is finally gonna tackle their own spin on Psionics. On the other hand, I wonder if the "Spiritualist" will be some kind of Binder... Or maybe they'll remain conservative and build on current systems like they did with the ACG... Nevertheless, that book sounds pretty cool.

[(Un)Inspired]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136955-Paizo-Pathfinder-Occult-Adventures-Announced-Advanced-Class-Guide-Debuts-at-Gen-Con-2014



I wonder if this means Paizo is finally gonna tackle their own spin on Psionics. On the other hand, I wonder if the "Spiritualist" will be some kind of Binder... Or maybe they'll remain conservative and build on current systems like they did with the ACG... Nevertheless, that book sounds pretty cool.

I kinda hope they don't do their own version of psionic stuff. DSP has done such a rad job filling that gap and if Paizo did its own 1st party pathfinder Psionic stuff the DSP stuff would seem kinda... Invalidated? IDK I just hope they do something totally new.

[Fax Celestis]

They're on record saying that if they do psi it'll be more vancian than dsp's version.

[Craft (Cheese)]

"People loved Rasputin Must Die, so we're gonna make a splatbook with more stuff like that."

:/

Where is this positive reception? Myself, and everyone I've seen talk about it, agreed that Rasputin Must Die was duuuuuuumb. And not the fun kind of dumb, but the horribly offensive kind of dumb.

(I'll admit that at least part of my dislike for that module is due to my massive, burning ladyhateboner for "Nazi Demon Magic" and all of its variants.)

As for the classes described, I don't see how these could possibly interest me, given they've already said that their "Psychic" classes are just going to use vancian spells.

[(Un)Inspired]

They're on record saying that if they do psi it'll be more vancian than dsp's version.

Oy vey


everything is used/day with paizo. They need to get their heads out of jack Vance's butt

[Raven777]

Really, going vancian with psionics would be such a shame.

Hey, since the books are related by name and topic, and Brandon Hodge participed in both, I wonder if it'll be a continuation on the material from Occult Mysteries (http://paizo.com/products/btpy9385?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Occult-Mysteries), with more gems like Sacred Geometry (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/sacred-geometry). :smalltongue:

[Beowulf DW]

DSP did a great job with psionics already, so I don't see why they'd want to try this. Unless it's something very different from psionics, it really is going to seem pointless.

Sounds like they're making a Cheliax adventure path, though, so I'm excited about that, at least.

[Anlashok]

From what I understand "Psychic Mages" are just going to be a new 9th level vancian caster. The most extreme thing you're going to get with them is a new caster type (i.e. arcane/divine/psychic). Paizo doesn't like trying new things in its class design.

[Craft (Cheese)]

Sounds like they're making a Cheliax adventure path, though, so I'm excited about that, at least.

There's already a Chelaxian AP: Council of Thieves, though it was pretty terrible. A Thrune naval fleet is also the final villain of Skull & Shackles. That's not to say there isn't plenty of room for more adventures in Cheliax, just that it's not completely unexplored territory.

[grarrrg]

I wonder if it'll be a continuation on the material from Occult Mysteries (http://paizo.com/products/btpy9385?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Occult-Mysteries), with more gems like Sacred Geometry (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/sacred-geometry). :smalltongue:

Roll a number of dice equal to the square of your STR mod. The size of these dice can be no larger than your unmodified REF save (so if your REF save is 5, you can roll d4's). Then you must determine the height of the largest tree in the forest WITH THIS HERRING!
If you can compute the herring:tree-height ratio within 3 decimal points, then you can...umm...FREE HUGS!

[Slipperychicken]

Roll a number of dice equal to the square of your STR mod. The size of these dice can be no larger than your unmodified REF save (so if your REF save is 5, you can roll d4's). Then you must determine the height of the largest tree in the forest WITH THIS HERRING!
If you can compute the herring:tree-height ratio within 3 decimal points, then you can...umm...FREE HUGS FREE DOUBLED POWER ATTACK BONUS DAMAGE!

Fixed that one for 'ya. All you needed was a broken mechanical effect at the end there to complete the analogy.


I think whoever wrote Sacred Geometry should either be sacked or restricted from writing feats (or at least tell me what he was taking when he wrote that, so I can get some for myself). It's shocking that such a feat could pass the sniff test, much less a team of professional game-designers. Far as I recall, even WotC had the sense not to provide benefits in exchange for literal OOC math homework (most of the math in 3.5e was at least buried in game terminology rather than being "complete this equation to get a 100% free metamagic with no strings attached").

[(Un)Inspired]

Really, going vancian with psionics would be such a shame.

Hey, since the books are related by name and topic, and Brandon Hodge participed in both, I wonder if it'll be a continuation on the material from Occult Mysteries (http://paizo.com/products/btpy9385?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Occult-Mysteries), with more gems like Sacred Geometry (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/sacred-geometry). :smalltongue:

They already posted a feat to fix Sacred Geometry:


Sacred Geometric Counterspell

Benefit: When a player with 15' attempts to enhance a spell with the Sacred Geometry feat you may, as an immediate action, totally go all tornado spaz on that player's head with a copy of the Occult Mysteries play book to teach him or her a lesson for wasting everyone's time.

[Craft (Cheese)]

My fix: Replace the whole math equations thing with a Knowledge (Engineering) check with a DC equal to 5 + (5 * the modified spell level). You can never take 10 or take 20 on this check. Make the feat only usable a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence modifier. Raise the Knowledge (Engineering) requirement to 10 ranks. It's still strong enough to be an automatic feat for most spellcasters (esp. Wizards and Witches), but now it's much more reasonable.

[zimmerwald1915]

Where is this positive reception? Myself, and everyone I've seen talk about it, agreed that Rasputin Must Die was duuuuuuumb. And not the fun kind of dumb, but the horribly offensive kind of dumb.
If all you're looking for is proof that at least one positive review exists in the world, here's (http://ofdiceandpenblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/reign-of-winter-rasputin-must-die.html) one I remember reading. If you want to know what the Paizo team's been paying attention to, then I'm afraid you're not going to get an answer here.

I must say, I'm more than a bit surprised that Paizo is releasing Occult Adventures in 2015, alongside the Giantslayer (set in Belkzen) and Hell's Rebels (set in [Northwestern]1 Cheliax) APs. I've always assumed they'd release their take on "psychic magic" alongside an AP taking place in Vudra or Jalmeray, Vudra being the supposed epicenter of psychic magic in the setting. That way they could use the new rules in the AP the way they did with Mythic Adventures and Wrath of the Righteous. Maybe they're setting up for a Vudra AP in 2016, and will release an Impossible Kingdoms Gazetteer2 to accompany it the way they released the Dragon Empires Gazetteer to accompany Jade Regent, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up. Even if I really want more maps.

1 Council of Thieves was set in southern Cheliax. Skull and Shackles was set in the Shackles (big effing surprise). Serpent's Skull and Curse of the Crimson Throne, both of which contain references to Cheliax or its history, are set in Sargava and Varisia respectively.
2 Copyright zimmerwald1915, August 21, 2014, all rights reserved.

[Arbane]

Where is this positive reception? Myself, and everyone I've seen talk about it, agreed that Rasputin Must Die was duuuuuuumb. And not the fun kind of dumb, but the horribly offensive kind of dumb.

(I'll admit that at least part of my dislike for that module is due to my massive, burning ladyhateboner for "Nazi Demon Magic" and all of its variants.)


If it helps at all, RMD is set in World War One. No Nazis!

I'm kind of tired of Vancian Casters, personally. Especially since we just got a half-dozen new ones.

[Slipperychicken]

If it helps at all, RMD is set in World War One. No Nazis!

Yeah, because we all know about the developers' unwavering, perfect commitment to historical accuracy in their fantasy game.

[Craft (Cheese)]

If it helps at all, RMD is set in World War One. No Nazis!

"Nazi Demon Magic" is my personal name for the trope (there might be an "official" TvTropes term for it but if so I've never found it on the site) where an author uses fantasy or occult elements to boil down a complex historical conflict into a simple Black and White narrative, often by "othering" an entire culture in the process. For example:

- Adolf Hitler is a satan worshipper who wants to bring about the apocalypse!

- The leaders of the confederate rebellion are secretly all vampires!

- Our heroes are kidnapped by cannibalistic, voodoo-practicing tribals!

The only positive thing I can say about RMD is that the author had the restraint to not have the PC's join up with a superpowered Trotsky, who was secretly a Solar in disguise.

[zimmerwald1915]

The only positive thing I can say about RMD is that the author had the restraint to not have the PC's join up with a superpowered Trotsky, who was secretly a Solar in disguise.
I don't know where you got the idea that Brandon Hodge is a crypto-Bolshevik, but I now really want to.

[Craft (Cheese)]

I don't know where you got the idea that Brandon Hodge is a crypto-Bolshevik, but I now really want to.

I think no such thing; It's just the first thing that came to mind that could make RMD significantly dumber while still fitting its established tone and themes.

[zimmerwald1915]

I think no such thing
Well, that's a shame. I'd gotten my hopes up for an outlandish and humorous anecdote.

[Raven777]

So here's a video of the Gen Con panel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8MEea_j2Hc&feature=youtu.be&t=30m50s) where they talk about the book.

The interesting part to me is the one where they mention they want to realize the new classes more in the style of the Advanced Player's Guide, which I hope means they'll be less derivative than their latest work on the Advanced Class Guide and feature more unique class features like, say, the Alchemist or the Magus do.

[Novawurmson]

Man, I really hope Paizo makes a new system. They've made some great 2/3rds casting classes (inquisitor, magus, alchemist) and revamped some full BAB classes pretty well (ranger, paladin, barbarian, monk->brawler), but they've never really made something outside of the Vancian casting paradigm.

They've already said they're not doing a power point system (probably for the better), but I'd love to see a re-imagined spirit binding. Or invocations - I don't think anyone's really touched invocations. Just not bonus teamwork feats. Please, no more bonus teamwork feats.

[Mithril Leaf]

Man, I really hope Paizo makes a new system. They've made some great 2/3rds casting classes (inquisitor, magus, alchemist) and revamped some full BAB classes pretty well (ranger, paladin, barbarian, monk->brawler), but they've never really made something outside of the Vancian casting paradigm.

They've already said they're not doing a power point system (probably for the better), but I'd love to see a re-imagined spirit binding. Or invocations - I don't think anyone's really touched invocations. Just not bonus teamwork feats. Please, no more bonus teamwork feats.

I hope they don't do Binding, as the Spirit Binding by Radiance House is awesome. I do hope they do Invocations as well though, since it's the only system they wouldn't be outing some competent 3rd party company with.
Of course, if they actually came up with something new and original, that wouldn't suck either, the alchemist is pretty cool. Enough with the Vancian casting though!