The 17th and 18th classes for Pathfinder Second Edition are finally official. Yesterday, the Magus and Summoner joined the other 16 classes and were sanctioned by Organized Play via this document. Please note you can see what is available, limited, or restricted in every rule book when you scroll down on that page. Not only did two new classes take their place in our game, but some new Archetypes did as well. One of those Archetypes has an extremely close resemblance to the 1e class, Arcanist. This would be the Flexible Spellcaster on page 209. Another 1e class seems to have been resurrected in the 2e Summoner class as well. The Spiritualist was able to summon a phantom and the new 2e Summoner does this by taking either the Anger or the Devotion Phantom Eidolons.
I am really impressed with the work that went into both of these classes. I reviewed them as part of the AR team that makes recommendations about what should or should not be sanctioned for Society and came away quite satisfied that these classes did not “break” the game. Instead, they seem to be well balanced and fit in well with the other classes while at the same time being unique and fun to play. Each of the two classes has different Hybrid Studies or Eidolons to select during creation that define their character’s particular style of play. The Magus has five Hybrid Studies while the Summoner has 9 Eidolons (8 in Society as Demon is restricted). It is also very obvious that these two classes will have additional Hybrid Studies and Eidolons developed in future books.
There are also new spells and items in the book as well. Each spell line has gained at least 65 new spells or more. Scorching Ray has returned and is better than ever! New rituals and focus spells appear as well with some for the new classes. New types of items like Fulus, Grimoires, Tattoo, and Spellhearts have arrived. I am hoping that another new item, the Personal Stave, is later allowed in Society, but at this time it is unfortunately restricted. I am particularly attracted to Spellhearts which are a form of permanent talisman usable by spellcasters. Dive into Secrets of Magic to learn more about these items!
In addition to the new types of magic items, there are plenty of new magic items as well. Some are on the limited list, however those can be purchased with AcP such as the Deck of Illusions (pg. 182) which a certain condescending Elven wizard is purchasing with his abundance of points. One item in particular that non-casters may love is the Cantrip Deck (pg. 181). Don’t have Darkvision? Not a problem if you have purchased a deck of Light cantrip cards! By the way, if you are going to buy one of the boons via AcP and want to know the text first, particularly ones where you get access to limited access spell or items, go to the Pathfinder Society FAQ and click on the Achievement Points and Boons area.
Finally, the section that I really liked going through the most, Chapter 5: Book of Unlimited Magic. Okay, despite the title, a lot in this section is limited for Society play. It is obvious that this section was written for more than just Society, so that GMs and their players can apply selected applications in their campaign as they see fit. Also, GMs running Adventure Paths or other Adventures in Adventure Mode can allow players to use sections from this area as the GM sees fit.
Let’s go through what is allowed in Society first. Elementalism and the Elementalist Archetype, Flexible Spellcasting and the Flexible Spellcaster Archetype, Geomancy and the Geomancer Archetype, Shadow Magic and the Shadowcaster Archetype, and the Thassilonian Rune Magic and Runelord Archetype are allowed in Society. Two of those are limited access though, meaning they require the use of AcP to purchase access to them. They are the Shadowcaster (40 AcP) and Runelord (80 AcP).
Obviously some did not make the cut and they are Cathartic Magic, Ley Lines, Pervasive Magic, Soul Seeds, Soulforged Armaments and the Soulforger, True Names, and Wellspring Magic. While some are obviously not cut out for the standard Society campaign, they could be used in a homebrew or even in Adventure Mode depending on the GMs approval. Two of these may very well still make an appearance via a chronicle sheet for completing a book in an Adventure Path in my opinion. Those would be Soul Seeds and the Soulforged Armaments.
No proper cover image exists other than this screenshot, but this is the actual cover art
All in all, this is a major step forward in the Pathfinder Second Edition system. It was said that with the release of the Advanced Player’s Guide and Bestiary 3 that the first wave or generation that originally made up the ideas of the 2e system had been released. What would follow would be rulebooks expanding on that original plan. Secrets of Magic is the first book of the second generation 2e rules to come out. The second book of this new generation, Guns & Gears is being printed right now. Paizo has already announced additional rulebooks for next year which begin with Book of the Dead slated for March 2022. A playtest for two as of yet unknown classes will be announced on September 18th along with the book they will be part of. We expect that to be released in August of 2022.
The Lost Omens line of books which cover the setting have seven books out as well. When Lost Omens: Mwangi Expanse was released, it marked a new evolution in that line as well. Future Lost Omens book will be focusing on regions of the Golarion setting, but a few like the upcoming Lost Omens: Grand Bazaar will fill in the areas that the rulebooks do not cover. Two new books have been announced with a third known to exist, but not yet slotted into the printing schedule. The two new Lost Omens books are Lost Omens: Monsters of Myths and Lost Omens: Knights of Lastwall. We know Lost Omens: Absalom, City of Lost Omens should be out next year at some unknown point.
I hope you enjoy Secrets of Magic as much as I am and will be using it to add to your favorite spellcasters! Meanwhile, you can play Pathfinder Society games online as always, or live in our area. Upcoming events are:
September 9th – Hannibal, MO at Game Arena
September 11th – Columbia, MO at Valhalla’s Gate (RSP event = Bonus AcP)
September 16-19 – Online via Gen Con Online (Premier Con AcP)
September 23rd – Hannibal, MO at Game Arena
September 30th – Hannibal, MO at Game Arena
October 2 – Quincy, IL at Tri-States Games & Hobbies (Store Opening)
Hope to see you at one of these events!
The League of Aroden 