Paizo Unveils Two New Classes

Paizo unveils two new, never-before-seen classes that tie into a large canon event in 2024.

As gods die, new gods arise and all of existence will be drawn into the conflict. Two new classes have been announced with their own roles to play in the colossal battle. In preparation for a new rulebook release, Paizo is playtesting two new classes: the animist and the exemplar.

The animist will be a Wisdom-based divine spellcaster, with bonds to apparitions, spirits who share their power and knowledge in exchange for the animist to act as their agent in the physical world. This wise spellcaster can change their abilities each day, or moment to moment, based on which apparitions they align themselves with.

The exemplar will be Pathfinder Second Edition's first rare class, a Charisma-based divine warrior. They can move their divine spark between receptacles called ikons to unlock potent effects and abilities. As their power grows, so does their immortal legacy.

Playtesting will run from September 1st 2023 through October 2nd 2023. Anyone who is interested in the playtest can do so either in home or as part of Paizo's Organized Play Program. Demiplane is also hosting a free character builder of both classes. Foundry VTT users will receive access to the module added to support the new classes on Friday, September 1st.

Feedback for the new classes should be submitted via one of two online forums: the Class Survey and the Open Response Survey. There will also be dedicated playtest forums on paizo.com to discuss the new classes.

 

[doctorhook]

Yayyy...more new content for PF2e that us PF1e fans won't ever be able to play with since Paizo doesn't want to convert some new PF2e material to 1e for us. First me and my players can't use the Inventor class for our 1e games, now these two classes.

But they'll gladly convert to 5e, however! Nothing for the consumers who helped them get to this point to begin with. Nah, they'd rather convert stuff for their rivals instead.

Make it make sense.

…is this satire? I’m honestly not sure.

 

[StoicElf]

These new classes seem as if Paizo wanted to create it own version of binder(vestige pact magic) and incarnum soulmelders (totemist, incarnate and soulborn).

I was thinking the exact same thing. Given how much I liked both the Binder and Incarnum from D&D 3.5, I do look to these with interest.

 

[Golroc]

Really happy to see these. I wasn't a huge fan of the Investigator (feels out of place for me outside of very specific campaigns/adventures), and I felt the Thaumaturge was an epic concept with so-so implementation. Both the Animist and the Exemplar score high for me in their thematic richness, (narrative) versatility and the design of the mechanics. The Exemplar could be a bit of a tough one to fit into certain campaigns, as carrying around a piece of divinity will tend to push a character to the fore and isn't something that would feel off simply treating as another source of magic. But the same goes for many other character ancestries/classes/archetypes - they don't fit into every campaign.

I still haven't dug fully into the meat of the classes, but one thing I already know is that I'd love to have an Exemplar Archetype, as I feel the concept is well-suited to a hybrid character concept. I would also like a variant where the provenance of the divine spark matters - not as an avatar or champion - but with a more indirect influence. Either way, it is a class with a tremendous potential for future content (official, homebrew and/or third-party).

The Animist is also great, if a little bit less well-defined. I can see players being slightly confused about how this class compares to some of the similar classes and concepts. There is thematic, mechanical and conceptual overlaps with Thaumaturge, Medium, Spiritualist, Witch, Shaman and Occultist. I know most of these are not official pf2e classes, but I still think it's a relevant consideration. Personally, I don't mind overlapping classes and archetypes. As for the mechanics, I like them, with the caveat that I think it's a class that requires a GM and a player willing and able to put in additional time and creative effort compared to the baseline classes. There's a lot of spirits and apparitions to create and integrate into the adventure/campaign. Which also impact pick-up play and organized play - bringing an Animist to the help means that the GM now has to consider the spiritual side of all characters and locations. But this was already the case for the Thaumaturge and certain feats, so it's not a new thing.

But absolutely a net gain for Pathfinder to have these two new classes. I'm looking forward to seeing how they fit in with the new book and what the events taking place are going to be.

 

[Laurefindel]

Not much interested in PF2 but I dig these. The oceanic aesthetics of the exemplar is novel, if anything.

 

[TwoSix]

I am afraid I will not see the translated version. That is the reason because I don't want to buy more by Paizo.

These new classes seem as if Paizo wanted to create it own version of binder(vestige pact magic) and incarnum soulmelders (totemist, incarnate and soulborn).

Definitely got a strong incarnum vibe from the exemplar, although it's definitely more streamlined. Which is a good thing!

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

In the past I said here the keys to design a new class:

- Right power balance, of course.

- Fun gameplay.

- Own identity. A class can't be only a list of power and a simple ripoff of other archetype.

* I loved the idea of vestige pact magic because it had a great potential to create new stories about possible conflicts with the rest of spellcasters.

 

[Rob Fasa]

Well done Paizo. It's great to see how their products evolve and mature. Bring on the newness.

 

[mewzard]

Man, Paizo continues to bring out exciting stuff for us, can't wait to see these two classes in action. Finally doing a 2e campaign with Kingmaker, and I'm having a blast with it so far.

 

[Shardstone]

Further proving how bs it is that wotc calls balancing new classes too hard.

 

[CleverNickName]

Yayyy...more new content for PF2e that us PF1e fans won't ever be able to play with since Paizo doesn't want to convert some new PF2e material to 1e for us. First me and my players can't use the Inventor class for our 1e games, now these two classes.

But they'll gladly convert to 5e, however! Nothing for the consumers who helped them get to this point to begin with. Nah, they'd rather convert stuff for their rivals instead.

Make it make sense.

Well of course they would write their new materials to be compatible with the biggest, best-selling, and current industry standard rules system. That's a no-brainer. Calling Wizards of the Coast a "rival" is a bit of a stretch, because WotC doesn't have any serious competition at the moment (it's kind of a problem, really.) Until things change in the TTRPG industry, I think that creating 5E-compatible and/or system-neutral versions of your products is the safe, smart move.

Further proving how bs it is that wotc calls balancing new classes too hard.

I don't recall them saying that. Did I miss an announcement or interview or something? Because I think they'd probably eat nails before they admitted there was anything "too hard" about their 5E products.