Epic Path

A modified Pathfinder campaign, set in the iron city of Fane.

Core Rules and New Rules

(moved to the Core Rules page).

Classes

All classes are complete and playable from level one to level 35+. Yes, we're serious.

All fifteen classes below have been run through a mathematical model to assure they fall into the desired performance band. All of them do great, and none of them will completely overshadow any of the others.

No, not all classes were ported over. We're not out to sell anybody any 'splat books', we just want a great game. Instead, we judiciously integrated and expanded roles, so the fifteen classes below should offer at a minimum as many play options as all the classes out there.

Some examples: The core functionality of the Summoner was rolled into the Alchemist, which is a cooler class in our humble opinion. We didn't find the Oracle to be different enough from a Cleric to justify. The core functionality of the Cavalier was integrated into the Warlord. Inquisitors are pretty interesting but we found them to be a bit derivative. Many classes (especially the new Ranger, Bard, or Prowler) could play as an Inquisitor just fine. Witches are pretty darn interesting, but the 'hex' class feature just wasn't enough to differentiate them from a creepy Druid, Bard, or Sorcerer. Etc, etc.

If you disagree with any of these assessments, well, that's perfectly your right. But we think almost everyone will find something to love in these classes. Take a look!

• Alchemist -- Added fetishes and tweaking. Revamped mutagens to be much more Hyde-like.
• Barbarian -- Minimal changes. Added a few new Rage abilities, removed some others.
• Bard -- Massive overhaul. See 'Harmony' for starters.
• Brawler -- New unarmed non-Oriental class. Hits seldom but hard.
• Cleric -- Major upgrades. See 'Castigate' and 'Channel Divinity'.
• Druid -- Adjusted hitpoints down a bit, otherwise no changes.
• Fighter -- Massive overhaul. See 'Warrior's Challenge' and 'Tactics' for starters.
• Monk -- Improved damage, adjusted Flurry of Blows.
• Paladin -- Moderate adjustments, mostly buffs, with the occasional nerf. Now any lawful alignment. Added more Smite.
• Prowler -- A class for the cat burglar types. Charges and spring attacks.
• Ranger -- Extensive rebuild and large buffs. Reduced number of required stats. Merged combat styles. Replaced spells with poultices. Added wolfpack tactics.
• Rogue -- Updated daggers, crits and sneak attack. Added a few Rogue Talents. MASSIVE damage boost.
• Sorcerer -- Bumped hit points down, other than that, no changes. No, seriously, not one.
• Warlord -- A defensive pseudo-healer (temp hp's instead of healing) who buffs adjacent allies.
• Wizard -- Added 'powerful cantrips',bumped hitpoints down a bit. Otherwise, unchanged.

New Exotic Weapons

• Weapon Properties - Added some new ones, slightly altered Sunder.
• Exotic Light Melee Weapons
• Exotic 1-Hand Melee Weapons
• Exotic 2-Hand Melee Weapons
• Exotic Thrown Weapons
• Exotic Ranged Weapons - And ammo listings.
• Exotic Armor and Shields

New Feats

(Moved to the New Feats page.)

Epic Feats

(Moved to the Epic Feats page.)

New Epic Rules

Bonus Spell Slots

For high ability scores. Really high, in fact.

Statistical Nerdery

These are some tables I've been using for reference when tweaking the character classes.

Monster Stat Comparison

The monster analysis was created by selecting five relatively random monsters from each CR and averaging the resulting numbers. In some cases, I avoided monsters which relied on special attacks or spells for their primary damage. I also avoided swarms, since they autohit and have lower damage. As you can see, I'll almost certainly need to do a bit of tweaking to monsters to make them more interesting to fight, given the class changes (primarily more HPs, but I'll also be reviewing damage. AC will remain unchanged, I expect.)

Gear Estimations By Level

This is a broad estimate of the bonuses the various classes would get from gear, broken out by level, and loosely based on the wealth-by-level table in Pathfinder. This is by no means meant to represent anyone's real gear, or suggest that I would ever actually allow you guys to get decent gear. Seriously, why would I do that?

PC Class Damage Comparison

The character class damage analysis uses a straightforward stat array for base numbers, a common weapon the class would use, and no feats. A flat bonus to attack and damage was given at higher levels to account for magic items. While I fully expect these numbers to increase due to feats, I was more focused on leveling the playing field, and assume that feat bloat will be a comparative wash across the classes.

As you can see, the caster classes have a clear damage advantage (in core PF rules, it's about 10:1), however, I felt that, to really achieve balance between melee and spell damage, I'd need to rewrite the whole game. Instead, I basically tripled melee damage so the ratio is closer to 3:1.

Monster Roles

Monsters need a little class, too, and these roles should give you a good idea of just how much more powerful the base classes are, after all our tweaking. Roles are generic sets of abilities that are applied AFTER templates, and stack WITH templates. These guys will keep the players wishing they had even more dice than the 30d6 the rogue rolls on his first sneak attack of the fight.

Campaign Milieus

(Moved to Campaign Milieus.)