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What about the Magus? A new Pathfinder RPG playtest…

I don’t know how I missed this… As the resident Pathfinder guy I should have been all over this, work be dammed! How did I miss the new Pathfinder RPG playtest? Well let me correct this oversight.

In a post at the Paizo blog Jason Bulmahn announced their latest playtest, a gish (I hate the term, but it is useful shorthand) that tries to carve a space for a mixed martial caster. It’s just a seven page playtest class, I downloaded it last night and gave it a once over today and it seems promising. I think it could benefit from some rule clarifications and, mind you with no playtesting this is just an opinion from a brief read through, it seems a little underpowered when compared to other Pathfinder classes.

I have to applaud Paizo’s commitment to their fanbase. This continues a tradition begun with their year long playtest of the rpg, then followed by the playtest of the Advanced Player’s Guide classes. I really think it’s brave of them to recruit their fans to try out classes, provide feedback and integrate the ideas in the final product. In the day of the interwebz harnessing the power of the fans is a gamble because for every happy fan, there is someone who will never be happy with the final product and will moan and complain if their one little idea is not taken into consideration. All I can say is bravo guys, keep at it, I think it’s a better game because of it.

My current Pathfinder campaign began while the rules were still being beta tested. During the playtest for the Advanced Player’s Guide classes I had one player use on of them. I must admit that despite trying out the rules I DID NOT participate actively in the discussion. Shame on me! I’ll try to correct this on this latest opportunity.

This is the link to the page where you can download the Magus class. You do need a Paizo account to do it. And here is the area of the message boards where fans are already discussing the class. If you like Pathfinder I encourage you, check it out, try it and participate in the discussion.

Have fun guys and gals!

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7 comments

comments user
Geek Gazette

Paizo and their open playtests are brilliant. I was a fan of Paizo before Pathfinder, but the PF playtest was what pushed me to become a die-hard Paizo supporter. You have gotta love a company that not only puts out some of the best products, but that also wants input from their fans. It is nice to post your opinions on the Paizo boards and have designers and editors not only respond but to explain the reasoning behind their decisions.

There are only a handful of companies that have such a mix of quality products and positive customer interaction.

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comments user
DarkTouch

Thanks for the heads up on this class even though it is going to be much too late for me to take advantage of. This looks like a great addition to the game. I speak from experience in trying to build a melee based spellcaster. The Magus would have been handy to have access to 4 months ago.

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comments user
Sunglar

@Geek Gazette, I must whole heartedly agree… Their quality is excellent and you can feel the dedication to their fan base. Love your site BTW!

@DarkTouch, one of my players said the exact same thing, and I know he will try it out as soon as he can. They do call me a Killer DM (unwarranted of course!) so he may get the chance sooner than expected. I’m kidding of course.

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comments user
DarkTouch

Unfortunately for me, my GM is dead set against respecing otherwise my Sorcerer/Paladin would likely be an Oracle by now. Organic character development is more my style anyway.

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comments user
Geek Gazette

@Sunglar

Thanks. Just wish I had more time to keep it up and do more regular posts.

BTW, if you happen to hear any updates on the status of "Pathfinder Modern", be sure to keep us all up to speed. The Paizo boards have been kind of quite on the topic for a bit. Currently I don't know if J.J. and the Paizo crew gave up on it, put it on the backburner or killed the idea.

SGW is always one of my top 5 stops in the daily blog roll.

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comments user
Luis Escobare

Right. So where are we on this? I find the class as interesting as it is risky. Can it be pulled off? What are the chances of actually surviving using this guy in melee? What direction should we take our build on it?

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anonthemouse

Old article, so sorry for replying, but it kind of bugs me that you call the class a “gish”, and then parenthetically explain about how you dislike the term. If you don’t like to call it a gish, then just don’t. Once you add in the explanation to justify the use of the term, it ends up taking longer to call it a gish than just saying “warrior/mage hybrid” in the first place would have. At that point, it’s no longer a “useful shorthand” at all.
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