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Supporting Roles: Adventurer Class $2.00
Publisher: Amora Game
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by Thilo G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/01/2012 10:39:31

This pdf is 11 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages editorial,1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 6 pages of content detailing the new adventurer base-class, so let's check this out!

The adventurer gets d8, 6+Int skills per level (but only a rather limited class skill array), proficiency with light and medium armor and shields as well as all simple and martial weapons, get 3/4 BAB-progression and can choose freely for two saves to be good saves and one to be the bad save of the class.

The adventurer-class is lucky and hence gets a luck pool of 4 Cha-mod. As a free action, they may use said luck to get a luck bonus of 1 to atk, saves and skills for one round. Furthermore, they may spend a luck point as a swift action to roll 2 d20s and take the more favorable result. This is a VERY powerful ability at first level - too powerful for my tastes. Depending on the trained saves adventurers have, they may also choose from a very limited list of bonus feats (3 per save) and gain access to uncanny dodge. The class starts to become interesting at 5th level, when guild cross training is unlocked - it is also unfortunately there that the concept somewhat unravels: Essentially the idea is that the adventurer gains access to a smattering of another class's abilities: Arcane training e.g. grants him a spellbook, 3 cantrips and one 1st level spell he can cast as a wizard. Unfortunately, the entry does not specify whether the adventurer can write new spells into his spellbook, nor how often the respective spells can be cast - I assume the class counts as a first level wizard, but I'm not sure.

The class could alternatively get access to the fleet feat, favored enemy and rage, but it does not specify whether rage and favored enemy improve with the levels. Alternative choices would be gaining a paltry 2 mounted combat feats or sneak attack 1d6 and trapfinding or lay on hands as a 2nd level paladin and flurry of blows as a monk of the same level or track, wild empathy and an animal companion at -4 levels or bardic performance, or combat-related proficiencies or two craft feats or access to 3 orisons and one 1t level cleric spell as if a cleric (does that mean he can choose the spells anew every day? Not specified...) or access to the 1st level abilities of a sorceror bloodline and a cleric domain. It is interesting to note that most of the sites DO mention as what class the adventurer counts, though unfortunately some retain ambiguity.

"Now that's teamwork" is an interesting ability, granting the adventurer not only the option to work better via teamwork feats, but also temporarily granting all allies in 30 ft. radius access to said teamwork feats 1+Cha-mod times per day. Nice ability! Or it would be if the adventurer could change teamwork feats like an inquisitor. As written, it's weak and very specific in its use. "Best guess" is also a nice one, using Knowledge (geography) to depict the adventurer as a globe-trotter that can identify local fauna, threats etc. Or it would be if got ANY SAMPLE INDICATION OF DCs and what could be learned from making them. DMs are left guessing, rendering this a prime example of sloppy design.

At 10th level, the adventurer gets access to advanced cross training, which is exactly what you'd expect - the big brother of cross training. From access to more arcane spells ( 2 1st level spells, 3 2nd level spells and 2 3rd level spells) to better armor and weapon training, more bardic effects etc., the respective advanced cross training choices feel like logical conclusions to their little brothers. It should be noted that it is not mentioned whether the additional 3d6 sneak attack of the rogue training stacks with the 1d6 gained from the regular cross training or not. I'm also puzzled whether the arcane cross training makes any sense, since a wizard's spellbook means that the paltry few low level spells gained could be gotten much easier. A clarification on how arcane spell training works would be in order. The same holds true for divine spell training's advanced cousin. The temple guardian choice is also ridiculously weak, granting access to smite evil 2/day as a 4th level paladin (non-scaling) and a ki pool, not to mention the bland feats some of the other cross training options provide.

At higher levels, adventurers may share their luck with their allies, granting them also the double d20 rolls, making this ability even stronger. Worse, at 13th level, they can negate attacks completely by spending a luck point. They also get to make a five foot step, but it is not specialized whether this also works against AoOs, when the adventurer can't make 5-foot-steps due to paralysis etc. As if the double d20-roll wasn't powerful enough, we actually get a third dice added to the mix at 15th level, meaning they can roll THRICE and take the most favorable result. The adventurer also gets a timeless body at 19th level and to choose from 3 capstone abilities: Guild Leader grants the leadership feat and a separate luck pool for the cohorts. They can also opt to constantly emit a 4 morale bonus aura. Or they could choose to spend a point of luck for an ability or feat, the effect is also granted to all allies within 20 feet of her.

Wait, what you say? Well, there are also some luck-based feats, 9 to be precise. One grants you access to a luck pool if you don't have one and thus access to the feats. Another lets you penalize your opponent with -2 to "attack roles[sic!]" (type of penalty also not specified) and saving throws, while other grant 4 to concentration, initiative, AC or 4 to confirm critical hits. Other feats grant you 2 to CMB, 2 luck pool and a feat that completely baffles me:

Lucky Magic Reservoir. This feat has the following benefits: "You may cast an extra spell per day by spending a number of luck points equal to the spell level you wish to cast." Come again? Do I need to spend luck points to cast spells gained from the cross training abilities? Is the respective spell in addition to those the adventurer knows? Can they cast ANY spell? The feat doesn't say, is confusing and in dire need of clarification.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting cannot be considered tolerable - the amount of editing glitches alone is bad and from plural errors, typos to punctuation errors and unclear wording, everything can be found. But if you add the amount of confusion and the fact that several abilities are not written adhering to PFRPG-standard forms like "2/day", instead using " two times per day" etc. and we get a clusterf****. Layout adheres to a relatively printer-friendly 2-column standard and the artworks are stock, but fit the theme. The pdf has no bookmarks, which is detrimental to the comfort with which one could read this.

OH BOY. The adventurer wants to be a jack-of-all-trades character with a theme of just being lucky. These are two design goals that REQUIRE a mastery of the rules completely absent from this pdf - especially when there's already two AWESOME luck-based classes: Rite Publishing's Luckbringer and TPK Games' Malefactor are superior in their implementations of (un)luck in each and every way and can be considered winners. The amount of double rolls (which are worse than rerolls) and later even triple rolls make the adventurer class feel unbalanced from the get go.

Now jack-of-all-trades characters are a colossal, vast pain to make and every DM who has ever endeavored to create such a class knows what I'm talking about. There already is a stellar, shapeshifting jack-of-all-trades that can borrow and emulate just about anything: Rite Publishing's simply brilliant Taskshaper. How does the adventurer hold up in comparison? The answer should be short and obvious at this point: It doesn't. It is evident that an idea was there, but the pdf tries to be versatile without any grasp for the power of the respective cross training suites it offers: Two lame feats available to just about anyone are not equivalent to several class-specific abilities. Worse, many of the descriptions show an evident lack of grasp on how the rules of the respective abilities work - they lack crucial clarifications and precise wordings. The result is that trying to use them is a drinking guessing game (Take a shot if you don't get how this is supposed to work/you find some ambiguity...) at best, an anger-inducing exercise in frustration at worst. And yes, this is very cynical, but when I playtested this class with my players, it's what they came up with and what we ended doing. Try as I might, I never, with no amount of rereading, managed to glean how for Pete's sake the spellcasting cross trainings were supposed to work.

The feats, while (mostly) not broken, are unfortunately bland at best. Another thing that jars me is the fact that this class endeavors to be a jack-of-all-trades - and it isn't. It only provides options for the core classes and when compared to e.g. the luckbringer or the inquisitor, it just makes for the worse choice. The class also ignores the APG, UM and UC-classes - if you're looking for any options to access the class-abilities of these by now permanent additions to the rules-roster, you'll be sorely disappointed.

The concept of this class is ambitious and the idea is behind it has some potential, but ambition has to be backed by aptitude. This pdf not only sorely needs another pass at editing, the class needs to be broken down and rebuilt from scratch up in order to have any chance of being considered even remotely balanced and worse, playable.

This class is not in any way up to the standard set by 3pps for PFRPG - it lacks crucial information on the rules, bookmarks, is studded with editing glitches and ultimately fails to make the luck-based adventurer class work. To compete in this environment, Amora Games will have to step up their game - massively. SGG, RiP, etc. have established a high standard and this class not even remotely can stand up to them. My final verdict, reflecting all the flaws and facts and that this does not work will be 1 star. Endzeitgeist out.



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Supporting Roles: Adventurer Class
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