First, in the interest of full disclosure, I was given a comp copy to review. I’ll try not to let it affect my judgment of the product.
Adventuring Classes: A Fistful of Denarii is a pdf of 12 new martial classes for the Pathfinder RPG. They would work with a standard 3.5 game with only a few tweaks (such as the skill list for the classes), keeping in mind that Pathfinder classes are generally a bit more powerful than 3.5 classes. Given that martial classes are frequently considered less powerful than spellcasters though, that might not be so bad. And at just $2.39 for a 52 page pdf, this is an excellent bargain.
The pdf’s interior is black and white, with no page borders and minimal art, just 1 picture for each class. This makes it relatively economical to print. The artwork ranges from so-so to very good, with the Bounty Hunter being my favorite piece and the Scout being my least favorite. A few of the pictures didn’t really match my image of the class, such as the Beastmaster… I immediately pictured Tarzan or Dar from the Beastmaster TV series. But instead it shows an elven girl in a simple tunic, cloak, and black boots.
I found several grammatical and spelling mistakes throughout the product, though none of them were difficult to figure out what was meant. The only errors I found that affected game play were that the Martial Artist and Scout did not have their number of skill points per level listed. The author has already said he knows about this and will be updating the product with the info ASAP.
I’ll now briefly give my thoughts on each class:
Beastmaster: A version of the Barbarian that gives up Rage in exchange for an animal companion and related abilities. I thought it was flavorful and fairly well balanced, and would be a fun class to play. Like I said before, it’d be perfect to create a Tarzan or Dar type of character.
Bounty Hunter: The first of several classes that are a mix of Fighter and Rogue, the Bounty Hunter is an interesting class with abilities directly related to tracking down and capturing foes. But it combines the Rogue’s full Backstab progression with a Fighter’s full BAB, which I fear may be somewhat unbalanced. A Fighter with as much as +10d6 backstab damage by 19th level, or a Rogue with a full Fighter’s HP and BAB just seems a little too good… personally, I’d reduce the backstab progression to 1d6 per 3 levels instead of per 2, topping out at 7d6 instead of 10d6, leaving the Rogue as the master of backstabbing. But I’ve not playtested this or any classes herein myself, so perhaps my fear is unfounded.
Corbie: This is an interesting class, a fighter who scrounges in battlefields and other places, and who tends to wander from place to place making a living however he can. While they start off a bit on the weak side IMO, they have several abilities that continue to grow as they level up, and can eventually learn a variety of Rogue talents and unique abilities.
Corsair: Like the Bounty Hunter, the Corsair is a Fighter/Rogue combo that gets both full Fighter HP and BAB and full Rogue backstabbing progression, though slanted a little more towards the Fighter end of the scale than the Bounty Hunter. My earlier stated misgivings apply here as well, and I’d propose the same solution. That said, the Corsair is a very flavorful class that does not fall into the all-too-common trap of making a sailor class that is only useful onboard a ship. The author wisely chose to create abilities that, while common aboard a ship or among pirates, are usually not limited to that application. For instance, they gain a bonus to Climb, Swim, and Acrobatics checks to move on narrow surfaces or uneven ground. That could mean a ship’s rigging, or it could be a narrow ledge in a dungeon.
Gladiator: An alternate type of Fighter, they lack the armor and weapon training of that core class as well as getting fewer feats, but gain a “Gladiator Style” (several linked feats, similar to a Ranger’s weapon style), a bonus to all melee damage, d12 HD, and a few other abilities. The abilities seem more front-loaded than a Fighter, but it looks like a fun class.
Hunter: If you want a non-spellcasting Ranger, look no further. In exchange for the loss of spells and a combat style, they gain a weakened backstab (1d6/3 levels topping out at 7d6) and several other abilities related to stealth.
Knight: As the Hunter is to the Ranger, the Knight is to the Paladin. It gives up the spellcasting, Smiting, and magical healing in exchange for a variety of Bard-like inspirational abilities called Resplendent Power. He gains a variety of them, but may only ever have 1 active at a time, and it ends if he makes a dishonorable attack, such as against a surprised or helpless foe, from total concealment, or uses poison. I like the class, and it’s a valiant attempt to create a non-magical alternative to the Paladin, but I feel it’s a little less successful than the Hunter. In my mind, the Paladin is more closely tied to Smite Evil, Laying on Hands, and spellcasting than the Ranger is, and the Resplendent Powers don’t grow in power with the Knight’s level, he merely gets more of them to choose from. I think if he could eventually have more than 1 active at a time, such as having any 2 active at 6th level, up to 3 active at 12th level, and up to 4 at 18th level, it would improve the class significantly. Still, it’s an interesting class that combines a variety of buffing effects with mounted or front-line combat.
Martial Artist: An alternative monk that is able to select a favorite “chosen weapon” (they may choose unarmed attacks if they wish, though most will choose a weapon of some sort), the martial artist is a class with vast numbers of examples in various wuxia films. You often see a martial artist who is an expert at nunchuku, sai, staff, sword, etc. They gain a Ki pool like a monk, and various evasion and weapon abilities, but do not gain the ability to reduce damage from falls, resist spells or poison, or heal himself, and his movement bonus stops after +10’.
Scholar: An alternative Bard without the ability to cast spells, the Scholar gains a wide variety of abilities to choose from. They gain such a wide variety of abilities to choose from they almost remind me of a Factotum, including some Rogue talents (like trapfinding and backstabbing), inspiration and coordination abilities, minor magic (both arcane and divine), turn undead, an animal companion, weapon training, etc. For anyone who wants to play a “jack of all trades” type of character, this class is perfect.
Scout: Think of this as a rural Rogue. They get a Rogue’s BAB, HD, and Backstabbing, and various abilities. I really like the class except for 1 problem: Instead of a Backstab ability, they get something called Targeted Strike. While a Backstab is limited to occasions when the target is flanked or has lost his Dex bonus, Targeted Strike works every time the Scout uses an Attack action (as opposed to a full attack). So it eventually becomes a choice of either making 2 or 3 attacks at progressively worse attack bonuses, or 1 attack with up to a +10d6 damage bonus. When I use this class, I think I’ll need to put some restriction on the ability… maybe whenever the Scout makes a Targeted Strike against anyone who would not be eligible for a backstab, he loses his own Dex bonus to AC for the round due to the additional concentration needed to use Targeted Strike on a guarded target.
Spy: This is another variation on the Rogue, and it’s really quite similar to the core class. Spies give up the focus on traps in exchange for bonuses to Disguise, Bluff, and Sense Motive, the creation of a cover identity, and resistance to effects that would compel them to speak the truth. Well balanced against the Rogue, but a spy will do better in an urban or intrigue-filled setting rather than searching dungeons for loot. However, like the Corsair, it has plenty of abilities that are useful in other situations too.
The book ends with several pages of new feats and equipment. Some of the feats are just too powerful in my opinion, such as Agile Defense, which gives a Dodge bonus to AC based upon your BAB, topping out at a whopping +6 to AC, though wearing armor reduces the bonus by a few points. Signature Weapon gives you a +1 to +5 attack bonus (based on character level) with 1 favorite weapon. There is even a series of feats to allow you to raise the dead with a Heal check as long as they died no more than 3 minutes ago, and if you get to them in 3 rounds, they don’t even suffer a negative level. That would certainly be useful in a low or no magic game where other forms of resurrection are unavailable, though. But most of the feats are balanced and useful, such as Combat Archery which lets you attack with a bow without drawing attacks of opportunity, or Halt the Charge which gives you a +1 attack and +1 AC against charging opponents.
In the new equipment section, there are the mighty sword, mighty axe, warbow, and dread maul, which are larger and more damaging exotic versions of the greatsword, greataxe, longbow, and maul. For the cost of 1 Exotic Weapon feat, these can significantly increase the damage output of 2-handed weapon users. The 3 new armors in this section are made for the Gladiator class.
In summary, I feel Adventuring Classes: A Fistful of Denarii has many good ideas, and is well worth the asking price. I feel it has a few issues with balance here and there, but they are not hard to resolve. The classes are useful, flavorful, and look like they would be fun to play. They give an interesting twist to the standard martial classes, and even the seemingly niche classes have a wealth of abilities that will prove useful in a variety of adventuring situations. If you play Pathfinder, you should consider picking this up!
Review Summary