Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Pathfinder Unchained

Don't know

it was bought as a gift and they like it

Love the size and the content is great (even if just mining it for ideas or for other RPGs).

Unchained contains a variety of new rules, though of the variety contained, I found two to be most useful: 1.) Background/Adventuring skill, which makes essentially relegates two free skill points per level to the skills that had very little use in game but were helpful in fleshing out your characters (Profession, Handle Animal, Craft, etc). 2.) The main draw is the 4 "redone" classes: The Monk, Barbarian, Rogue, and Summoner. The Unchained monk finally gets a full BAB and a new "Style Strike" feature that gives it a little more combat presence, however it still suffers from the core problem that pathfinder monks already did in being very MAD (multiple attribute dependent). The Barbarian functions very similarly to it's previous iteration, and is essentially a simplified/clarified version that changes little. Apparently the writers felt the rogue wasn't powerful enough as the Unchained rogue is a buzzsaw, still possessing all the skills of a rogue but now allowing it to deal melee damage based on dexterity, making the already powerful two weapon fighter rogue stronger. Lastly the Summoner, which (personally) had seemed a very very powerful class before, is brought back down in power level slightly, with archetypes for it's eidolon instead of being able to make whatever you wished.

OMG, I don't even know where to begin with this book. As a Pathfinder RPG player, this is just the single greatest book for the game (beside the core rulebook of course). It has so many great variants and updates that are so versatile and useful for the game. I cannot compliment this book enough. It's the Unearthed Arcana for Pathfinder, and I've been waiting YEARS for it and it's finally here! :D

This book gives some class options to Pathfinder 1e. I admittedly have only used the rogue part, but the improvements to the rogue are fantastic.

Basically, this is a book of "official houserule options", offering quite a variety of alternate systems. Of particular note are the reworking of the Rogue and Monk classes, both frequent targets for complaints of inadequacy. Also quite interesting are inherent and automatic bonus progression, both of which offer alternatives to the oft-cited Christmas Tree effect.

Everything you need to know to defeat, cast a spell or whatever the case maybe. Awesome book. A must have.

This is a book of options, of which you can pick and choose which will work best for your game. Flexibility and choices are good things. The book is a Paizo hardcover, with 254 pages of content. The quality is Paizo's typical level, ie., awesome. The pages are slightly glossy and the art is fantastic. Paizo hard covers are built to last, through the rigors of gaming usage. The options include: - New versions of the Barbarian, Monk, Rogue, and Summoner. - A system similar to Fractional BAB/Saves, from Unearthed Arcana (I like the UA system better) but again this is extra options for your game. - Staggered advancement, where you gain partial class abilities, skill ranks, feats, etc.., over the course of your level (in 1/4 increments). - Several options for skills, including a Consolidated Skills (giving any character more skill options with the same number of skill points). - Alternate crafting and profession rules for your skills. - Skill Unlocks (getting significant bonuses at 5/10/15/20 ranks into a given skill). - Alignment, as a point based scale... alignment feats... removing alignment from the game, along with the ramifications of doing so. - Removing iterative attacks (the extra attack you gain at BAB +6 (the +6/+1) or at BAB +11 (the +6/+1). - Wound Thresholds for more realism... penalties to your capabilities which escalate as you approach death (no more full and equal effectiveness at both 52 HPs and 3 HPs). - An alternate system for Poisons and Diseases. - Simplified spellcasting (memorize your highest spells, and use a pool to cast the vast majority of your spells... less bookkeeping for higher levels). - Limit the scaling of spells (stop adding additional dice, to the same spell due to your level increases). - Adding special materials to your spells, which get special functionality. - Automatic bonus spells, effectively gaining the bonus of a higher stat as your level, even if your world has reduced magical items so your stat isn't increasing as quickly as a typical caster in a normal campaign. - Innate Item bonuses... so you don't need to always go with the Cloak of Resistance, Ring of Protection, Amulet of Natural Armor... get the bonuses, at level appropriate rates automatically. - The option to add Wild Magic to your game. - The chance to fumble your spells. - Items which scale with your level, improving on their own as you gain additional levels. - A new magic item creation system. - A monster creation system, for more flexibility in your games. Our group has used the classes the most, and are sticking with the default game rules for the current campaign. I really like the Unchained Rogue, and appreciate the simplification of the Barbarian (static bonuses from Rage, as opposed to enhancements to abilities, which is more damage with a two-hander and less with a one-hander... ie., more math to play with) and the Summoner (where the Eidolon is an outsider of a given type, and automatically gains certain augments around that theme, with less customization required). I'm not sure if I like the Unchained Monk, as it fixes a few class issues but weakens an already interesting, but not strong, melee combatant. The options are interesting, and a future campaign could easily be given a unique flavor with a combination of these rules. For example, you could make magical items scarce but powerful, while giving players some of the bonuses from the typical 'big six' (Ring of Protection, Cloak of Resistance, Amulet of Natural Armor etc..) just for leveling up. Then give bonus spells based on level rather than having it based on a stat (which isn't enhanced by abundant items and thus high INT/WIS etc). The fewer items in existence could scale over time, so they remain useful far longer than normal. Magic could be less reliable, without spells scaling based on level, and with the potential of fumbles and wild surges. That would be a drastically different campaign setting than the normal... it would be a memorable game. Ultimately, more options are good, and you can pick and choose which to use in your game.

Another great tome filled with a lot of interesting information. Just note that this pocket edition has a smaller text size which may be difficult to read for some people.

Todo pero es una lastima que no lo aiga en castellano.

nice addition of optional rules and reworked classes expanding the already great game.

Este livro caminha simultaneamente em duas direções opostas: A um tempo, traz diversas opções para simplificar regras e agilizar o jogo... É o que acontece com bárbaro, por exemplo, em que os modificadores de fúrias passam a ser aplicados diretamente sobre testes (modifica BBA ao invés de força e hp ao invés de constituição, por exemplo). Nesta linha, também traz regras simplificadas para criação de monstros, etc. Ao mesmo tempo, tras uma lista desnecessariamente complexa de possíveis ações em combate e outras regras que tornariam, na contramão, o jogo mais complicado. Como são todas opcionais, dá pra selecionar as regras que convém a cada grupo, mas muitas dessas regras são disponibilizadas online pela própria Paizo. No entanto, dado o preço e volume de informações, acredito que a seleção do conteúdo torna difícil aproveitamento integral do livro. Em resumo, talvez compense para um grupo ter uma cópia (DM, geralmente), mas será consultado esporadicamente.