Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Combat Author: LLC Paizo Publishing | Language: English | ISBN:
1601253591 | Format: PDF
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Ultimate Combat Description
- Series: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Paizo Publishing, LLC.; 1st edition (August 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1601253591
- ISBN-13: 978-1601253590
- Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
or APG 3?
The Short:
If you love unarmed combat, dream of racing chariots and fighting in gladiatorial games, wish to sail the seas, love Oriental Adventures, need more spell options, or want to break out of the base class mold; this is the book for you.
If you think your party's human shields ought to wield an actual weapon in the classic D&D environment, prepare for disappointment.
The Long:
To say there is a lot of "love" for the monk in this book is an understatement, it's a full blown obsession. More than 1/4 of the feats are related to unarmed combat (66 Unarmed Strike prereq feats, 10 Imp Grapple, 5 Imp Trip prereqs) and 21 new monk weapons make their debut (out of 40). However, if you are playing a weapon wielding fighter type (paladin, ranger, barbarian, etc.), there is not much love here and the class in most need of Ultimate Combat "love", the base fighter, gets a severe case of frostbite. Other classes not typically consider fighter types (alchemist, magus, wizard, cleric, rogue, druid, etc.) get equal or greater attention (new archetypes for every base class, numerous new feature specific feats, 29 pages of new Spells). It's seems the Ultimate Magic spillover landed here and all the truly martial classes paid for it.
My biggest complaint about the feats, besides too many are tailored towards monks, is expense. Only 12 feats need no prereq (4 require Teamwork). Most feats require 2 or more prereqs and its not uncommon for a "base" feat to have 5 prereqs (stats, class features, skills, race, race feature, and/or a BAB). Too many require specific class features like arcane spell casting, channeling, poison use, bardic performance, hex, wild shape, etc. encouraging multi-classing.
Ultimate Combat is the latest Pathfinder book from Paizo. It retails for $39.99. It's 253 pages, hardbound and is six chapters in length.
The first chapter introduces a new base class the gunslinger and two alternate classes, the Samurai and the Ninja. The Samurai is based on the fighter class while the ninja is Rogue based. Paizo determined that these were more than a archetype but less than a new base class so created the alternate class. I like this myself.
The Gunslinger introduces firearms and a class to use them in the Pathfinder Universe. While I am not excited about introducing gunpowder to my setting I can understand those who do. There is also additional information about firearms later in the book.
The first chapter introduces additional Archetypes for the classes. Archetypes are changes to basic classes which change out some abilities for other abilities, which again I consider better than creating a myriad of new classes.
Chapter two is about feats. There are nine pages of short description of feats, some 250 plus feats in all. It will take some time to figure out how good or bad they will be. The full description of the feats is about 40 pages of the book.
Chapter three introduces Eastern armor, fire arms, Gladiator weapons, primitive armor and equipment, duels, performance combat and siege engines. The eastern armor and the piecemeal section is to enhance the information used in the Jade Regent adventure path also just released. The performance combat is a special section so you have the ability to win over a crowd as well as beating your opponent. This looks intriguing to me and I will check it out a bit later.
Chapter four is about vehicles, land water and air.
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