Classes in the Nebula

 

Adventuring Variety

 

One of the harder decisions for some players to make, choosing the class you want for your character is an important one. This guide is meant to allieviate some of this issue by listing different metrics and tiering out the classes to help you find your way.

The four metrics that are to be used in this guide are meant to used as analysis tools for this purpose and they have no analog within Pathfinder 2e products. The three fields relate to a classes particular reliance on three major mechanics in the game: Skills, Combat and Magic. The fourth criteria is Complexity, which will dilineate the classes that have higher difficulty to play due to advanced mechanics. Subcategories within their own fields will be created as well, to note the different types of casters in Magic and such.

Complexity will be marked by several stars next to the name of the class, in a 5 star style (the more stars, the more complex the class, the more difficult it will be to learn).

Setting Details and Notes

The following lists all of the Pathfinder classes and ties into the setting where they fit in the most, namely the regions of Semhinter, Arboryn, Foldein and Masque. Each entry contains a couple of summary lines over their powers and notes about playing the roles of these classes as well to aid new players make their character creation decisions. They also have notes on a particular loci where they are popular or what sort of renown they have throughout the Nebula in the case of classes that have a best fit everywhere and anywhere.

Magic

These classes have power over magic and are granted their own spellcasting slots to perform it, or have their own unique interactions with the magical traditions. Each tradition of magick has several methodologies for invoking it into the world, tradition should be seen as a classification of which results the caster desires where as the class training is the tool used to get there.

Methodologies

Prepared: These spells have to be studied before the start of your adventuring day, there is a degree of careful planning and luck that comes to picking the correct spells for your trip. You have an extensive list of spells to select from daily however. This is a great method for preparing for niche situations you may come in contact with.

Spontaneous: You have a limited selection of spells to choose from during your day called a repertoire. Some classes get access to signature spells, which allow you to scale a lower level spell higher without having to learn that exact level of spell. This is a great method for selecting a pool of old reliable spells, which will operate more efficiently.

Truncated: Your spells per day is extremely limited, typically to four of your highest slots. This is counterbalanced against the strength of your strong class features.

Feature: You don't cast spells at all, in a traditional sense. This class borrows incredibly heavily from traits of the traditional linked to it and incorporates it into martial arts or an expert skillset.

Methodologies

Arcane

 

Specializing in magic that affects the mind and body, this tradition has spells that afflict status conditions and take advantage of the elemental weaknesses of your opponents. With a specialty on academic learning and forming meta connections between all magic traditions it has some of the most overt- results oriented spells.

Reliable, safe spells with range and a diverse array of effects. Limited amount of buffs and debuffs. Traditional casters typically have to learn these spells from a spell book, but the list is full of niche spells used in specific situations anyway.

Strengths: Widest array of damage types to hit weaknesses with, spells are reliable and typically keep you out of troublesome melees, tons of niche spells that will solve logistics and roleplaying issues.

Weaknesses: No healing, no means to buff multiple people reliably, most of the traditional casters require you to maintain a spellbook to practice this tradition.

Wizard: A spell scholar armed with a book and very little else. (Prepared Spellcasting)
Complexity: 4
Magic: 5
Combat: 1
Skills: 3
Specialization: Arcane Schools, Arcane Thesis

Magus: A learned warrior who is obsessed with blending the arcane with martial arts. yearning for that perfect spellstrike. (Prepared Truncated Spellcasting)
Complexity: 4
Magic: 3
Combat: 3
Specializations: Hybrid Studies

Sorcerer: An inheritor of arcane power, exploits the typical weaknesses of foes using tightened arcane list with the increased intensity of blood magic. (Spontaneous Spellcasting)
Complexity: 2
Magic: 4
Combat: 1
Skills: 2
Specializations: Draconic, Genie, Imperial, Wyrmblessed

Summoner: A spellcaster whose magic synergizes with the energies of a great eidolon Dragon or Construct allowing great presence on the battlefield (Truncated Spontaneous Spellcasting)
Complexity: 5
Magic: 3
Combat: 4
Skills: 3
Specializations: Dragon Eidolon, Construct Eidolon

Witch: A spellcaster whose patron grants exquisite magical abilities shaped around the expert use of a familiar, stronger focuses on unique debuffs that twist the arcane list into a better support role. (Prepared Spellcaster)
Complexity: 4
Magic: 4
Combat: 2
Skills: 2
Specializations: The Inscribed One

Divine

Magic deriving from an extraplanar or godly origin, this tradition has spells that confer strong bonuses to allies and exploit the weaknesses of their ideological foes. Miracles of healing, resurrection and restoration form the backbone of this tradition. Most spells in this tradition have straight forward effects and can easily affect multiple allies.

Strengths: Access to power Heal and Harm affects. Vitality, void and spirit constitute most of the damage types of the class, bodiless, soul-less constructs are the only things really immune to your damage effects. You have strong buffs that can affect multiple allies.a

Weaknesses: You are required to be in compromising situations to get the most out of your spells, or you are forced to use extra actions to keep safe. Not the most subtle spell list.

Cleric: A spellcaster who brings their divine doctrine to the battlefield, deities have domains that span every object and concept, hardier and more made for combat.

Occult

Subtle magic formed from the great mysteries of the multiverse, this tradition is more subtle than the others conferring strong penalties to enemies and boons to allies. Occultic magic can bring heroes to new greater heights or doom them to failure. Featuring strong mental damage spells, there are several strange magics that can deal with the exorcism of ghosts, the erasure of memories and the proliferation of curses.

Strengths: Strong buffs, even stronger debuffs to afflict your enemies. Traditional casters have strong tricks to increase your casting versatility or expand your spell list with outside features. Magick is strongly aligned with information gathering, investigating phenomenon or solving problems in esoteric ways.

Weaknesses: Strongly affiliated with mind damage, which does not affect all creatures and has lower efficacy. Has healing but it does not prioritize hit point restoration. Traditionally spontaneous casters, so you will have to invest money to use niche spells you wouldn't dare keep in your repertoire on a common day.

Primal

 

Forged from the planes itself, this tradition is an extension of nature and provides spellcasters with its boons. Wielding control over the elements: fire, earth, water, air, metal and wood- primal casters have a variety of elements to exploit their enemies weaknesses with. Nature also provides healing and other benefits to practitioners of Primal magic, gaining the forms of great beasts, healing wounds or manipulating plant life to grow.

Strengths: Has command over strong elemental magic, transformation spells, and healing spells. Rituals are strong and often do not carry a heavy cost. Incredibly direct in scope.

Weakness: Too rough in scope sometimes, has a couple spells that can troubleshoot logistical issues but you are disincentivized somewhat from preparing them. Some spells have troublesome requirements, either the element must be nearby, a transportation spells turns you into a fish, or a high damage spell requires you to turn into a bear to maul someone which can turn your magic into a "Yes... but" situation rather than an ideal solution.

Wildcard

 

These classes have the flexibility to select which discipline of magic that they have access to, usually selected through a subclass or specialization feature. They provide a specialized flair to the tradition that is not usually expressed in their practitioners. The tools provided by these methods can provide a radically different situation than what a traditional spellcaster would encounter.

Alchemist

Renown- Alchemical advancement is a staple of medieval public works, finding root in medicine, industry and commerce. As such they have found places in civilized lands to easily ply their trade. When travel is dangerous and medicine is scarce an Alchemist does not have to slay monsters to become a village hero.

A difficult class to play, items can be used with no training or experience and provide bonuses, low consistent damage and low accessible healing. Poisons are also accessible, but require a little bit of training to use effectively. Alchemist barely operates when it is making potions, bombs and formulations in the thick of combat- but with proper intel of the adventuring day to come they are formidable allies capable of exploiting weaknesses and counteracting great perils.

Animist

Loci- Animism is the method of worship in the Semhinter and animists often lead tribes, creates hermitages in the hills and commune with the numerous small gods of the land.

This caster class mixes both spontaneous and prepared casting for the divine list by utilizing various different apparitions and shifting their entire utility kits around as a consequence. For a new player learning all of the apparitions and the divine list could be a large learning curve to get over. For an avid roleplayer this is a great method of meeting a divine apparition in your travels, and learning to entreat it for favors and friendship.

Bard

Renown- The Nebula is full of stories, people and riches. Whether raised in a college, or on the streets of a slum bards spread news throughout the multiverse with song and fortune. Welcome with a wary hand, they frequent the way stations and boarding houses in between the realms and ply their trade earning small fortunes. The unscrupulous ones make their own stories joining expeditions or chronicle their own history as it is made. A classic rendition of a 3rd edition option that is the iconic jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Bard has access to the occult list with spontaenous casting and access to a great list of martial weapons and light armors. The only problem with playing a bard is having too many things to do and not enough actions a turn, due to various composition spells that need to be sustained. Mastery comes with knowing that supporting your team with strong bonuses is a great use of your turn.

Barbarian

Loci-Semhinteris a place where the barbarian truly thrives as both a naturalist and a combatant. Valued for their strength and adherance to totemic principles from their Instincts they are the very icon of the region's strength and resiliency. A simple martial class to play with a large bonus to damage (a rarity in this system) at the cost of AC (a steep price but not terrible). With a couple of skill training you will find that you have other things to do than swing your axe around, a good easy pick for new players wanting to have a classic "Conan style" experience.

Cleric

Loci- Clerics are native to all realms, and as such they are agents of the gods and their wishes in a multiverse where their will is refracted throughout the Nebula. Being bound to shards and stellar bodiestheir influence is boundless only to their restrictive desmenes and so the need for clerics and faithful is important to their survival. Clerics are presented with a wide variety of domains encompassing all facets of creation and society and a plentiful number of Gods and Pantheons who encompass them. Within this class contains many impactful decisions like the choice to pick a warpriest or cloistered doctrine, or choosing to sanctify yourself to a holy or unholy cause, or to channel a healing or harming font. As such, creating a cleric can be a very difficult process but play remains consistent.

Champion

Loci- Royalist warriors and capable knights are the backbone of the elite strata ofFoldein. Adopting causes and tenets to guide them, they are bound by principles and nations. The pride of their nation carry with them the memory of their lands throughout their adventures in the Nebula enacting justice in their name. Champions are a defensive class that has a variety of different tools to protect themselves and their allies. Learning to use every action and reaction you gain per turn, there are several ways a Champion assists their allies that are fairly subtle to someone in the back lines. If you want to roleplay a knight with a code of ethics, healing and mitigation to offer their friends then the Champion is a safe bet.

Druid

Loci- These are powerful primal casters who safeguard the hidden tenets that guided the creation ofArboryn. Learning from the old monoliths, hidden texts and retired guardians of the place they have learned how to best safeguard the wilds from the threats of the Nebula. Druids are a class with many different ways to specialize within their main principles. New players should find which of the many orders of druid provide their idealized fantasy of a magical naturalist and stick to it. Proficient in healing, flinging elemental magic, turning into animals or providing strong boons to your allies there are many different things that a druid can specialize in that could muddle decision making as they progress.

Exemplar

Loci- Gods and demigods of the wilds of Semhinter, these small gods live close to humanity and provide a humanizing context to divinity for the mortals living there. Capable of great feats of strength and prowess the Exemplar lead tribes and provide the impetus for them to wage war on affecting the territories in the area greatly. A martial class at it's core, the exemplar provides many different abilities that aid in the self aggrandizement of the small god. Containing a spark of divine power and cycling it through their body they amplify the potency of their abilities while they fight. Defining their legacy before they even play with epithets and iconography it is vital that a player doesn't let the godlike flavor get to their head during play.

Fighter

Loci- Ubiqutious to the Nebula across all shards and beyond, the fighter is the essential- fighting- specialist. Fighters protect enclaves of people in Semhinter and the City of Masques from bandits and attacks- honing their skills with every challenge. They are mercenaries and knights in the realms of The Fold eschewing complicated codes of ethics for a direct approach. Arboryn though peaceful even needs a peacekeeper to rise up and fight the odd monster or two. Peak fighting perfection. Operating within fighter will give a player all the experience they need to understand the different combat activities available to all characters and even give them some specializations to work with via class feats. Containing no subclasses, it is easier to make a fighter than most other classes in the game. With a pretty straight forward identity a new player could simulatenously multiclass and make things more interesting by the time they reach their second level.

Gunslinger

Loci- A stylish combatant from the shard of Masque. Gunslingers are martial artists with a specialized affinity with stolen technology of the Formless, black powder and rifling. Bringing their loud weapons to the field they inspire dread and awe with their fancy tricks, leveling the playing field in the ruined streets of Barrowchalx. This class has much in common with the fighter in that they have an accelerated proficiency with firearms. Firearms are a unique armament in the system, having lower damage but several traits that increase the damage of the blast on a critical hit. The gunslinger has many abilities that work to mitigate the weaknesses of black powder weapons, and do so to good effect. All of the subclasses specialize in a unique method of reloading their weapon while performing a different action, and each provide a unique boon to the Gunslinger fantasy your character desires from western dramas. Choosing correct time to reload, create distance, melee strike and use your skills may prove to be a difficult at first but fishing for critical hits can prove to be addicting.

Inventor

Loci- A crafting specialist from the City of Masques, several people from all over the Nebula learn the ways of the inventor from the lost knowledge there. Crafting useful gadgets and creating new recipes the Inventor provides their innovation to their allies skimmed from the trash heaps and ruins of the city. Fitting snuggly within the theme of the city, Inventors are the mad engineers who would risk life and limb to scavenge there. Inventor has a particular class fantasy in mind of a crafting specialist and is thus similar to the alchemist. But where as the alchemist gets their abilities innate to their class in the form of free consumables a day, the inventor has strong mechanically advanced inventions (innovations technically) that assist in their daily adventurers. With the ability to commit to an overdrive, the inventor can weaponize their intelligence in combat and create monstrous weapons and armor only they can use. Creating an inventor can be complicated, but gameplay may just consist of using their powerful arms in combat and learning new recipes in the field, using powerful engineering to create solutions for their adventuring party.

Investigator

Based around the abilities of great detectives such as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, the investigator is great at feats of detection and perception. An intelligence based class, it is similar to the rogue in the sheer number of skills they have afield for their use. With unique abilities to pursue a particular mystery, "on the case" and "devise a stratagem" have a essential synergy that can be difficult to master at first but will likely work really well in a West Marches environment where your objectives are clear and true.

Kineticist

Loci- This primal elemental magic is one of the first to develop in the realms and is true to the traditions of Semhinter where life is hard and the elements are strong. Honing their skills, great kineticists provide valuable boons to their tribes providing water, lumber and fire where it is scarce. With constant opposition from the environment and other tribes these warriors are trained to have great resilience against adversity, becoming powerful elementalists. Kineticism is its own magic system and is quite difficult to pick up without context of what it is. A combination between martial arts and primal magic, this class is the only one that uses Constitution for ability scaling. Similar to the gunslinger, they must control their elemental gates and "channel the elements" to use abilities called primal "impulses"- requiring a period to rechannel their elements if they use powerful bursty "overflow" abilities. If you're unfamiliar with how this class works, watch "Avatar the Last Airbender" for something similar. Read the flavor text surrounding the class, repeat.

Magus

Loci- Synergizing between arcane knowledge and martial prowess, the Magus is known as the prestigious Runeknight in the lands of The Fold. Requiring grueling physical and psychological training, they were extensively used as officers in Queen Carmino's final wartime campaign to expand her physical realm. Training them in mass, the tradition was largely diluted by leadening their numbers with fresh recruits from noble houses.

Monk

Loci- Monks live in remote monasteries where they train in relative isolation, one of the more premier isolated places is the peaks of the Semhinter. Often coming to the place as travelers and outlanders, they test their skills against the ferocious fauna and brutal survivors of the land while reflecting in the primal beauty of the land.

Oracle

Loci- Steeped in dark powers, the idyllic lands of Arboryn are freshly infiltrated by occultic and divine powers. Connected directly to their divine mysteries through their second lives and burdened by the curses of their origin, it is not uncommon for an oracle to emerge from the woodland paradise yearning for the lands beyond their sheltered life. Oracles are spontaenous divine spellcasters that have fixated their minds on forbidden divine mysteries. As a result of looking into the unknown they have been cursed by the mystery, the source of their power. Much of the complication has been stripped down between intensity levels of the curses and the availability of your powers- an oracle can use incredibly efficient niche spells with the cursebound trait in exchange for becoming more cursed temporarily.

Psychic

Renown- Spellcasters that tap directly into the power of their mind, these occult casters are fairly commonplace throughout the Nebula. A psychoactive place with many interconnected and conflicting worlds, the occultic powers of the muliverse are readily available by passing through the edge of the world. Rivaling the power of wizards, these spellcasters harness the unfathomable with the powers of their mind throughout the multiverse.

Ranger

Renown- The twisting wilds of the Aether are a wellspring of danger and resources. Bleeding eternally into itself, it is the final frontier for a outdoorsman to master. Out of all the classes, the ranger is the most fit to navigate the treacherous protean trails and it is the ultimate test of their survival skills. Surviving and understanding how to navigate the Aether is a contest against time and the material form leading to many rangers earning their keep. Some inspire legend and myth with tales of their great expeditions into the Aether, and there are many more who leave and are never seen again.

Rogue

Loci- Forged on the hostile streets of Masque, survivors test their expertise eking out a living in the chalky city. They are consummate masters of guerrilla tactics, the leaders of gangs and knowledgable subject matter experts. All this gives them the slightest edge in the City of Masques, to survive onslaughts of zombies, rogue elementals and the inscruptable will of the Formless.

Sorcerer

Loci- Born from supernatural circumstances, the orphans of Arboryn are from odd stock. Incapable of tracing their bloodlines, it is common for folk of the Orphanwild to be capable of all sorts of intrinsic magicks. Nuturing in it's nature, the sorcerers of Arboryn have unrealistically simple and mild lives leading to them coming to terms with their powers in a healthy way- unlike a steady majority of adventuring sorcerers whose childhoods are filled with incinerated households and reanimated pets.

Summoner

Renown- Binding itself to extraplanar forces, summoners train the easiest in the liminal spaces of the Aether. In lands that exist between thought and matter eidolons wander between the planes, mete out congress and spend considerable amounts of paid time off. It is here that apprentice summoners find their supernatural partner and train, where the power of the Aether can fuel the magick directly. Along with their Eidolons, Summoners can protect community anchorages and patrol connections with numerical superiority. Summoners are a bit more difficult to handle for beginning players, they are flexible to a fault. Eidolans are more than just familiars or minions, they share the player's hitpoints and actions directly and even have their own character sheet. Summoners are provided with some spellcasting but only have access to the two most powerful ranks of spells, and the type of magic is based on what sort of Eidolon they select. The true strength of a summoner is their reach over the battlefield, with two presences on the field it is much easier to mobilize to a point of interest. Many of the summoner abilities make acting together with your Eidolon easier, supplying an action advantage to your side of a conflict. As such a subtle bonus, the Summoner can be a very difficult class to play.

Swashbuckler

Loci- In the lands of Foldein there is a dreaded class of mercenary that is equal parts assassin, braggart, duelist and street fighter- the swashbuckler. A self aggrandizing sort, they often work as part of a band or on their own- reaping a reputation in the chaos of war and politic. Welcome in the back alleys and in the noble courts, swashbuckler panache commands a respect from the everyman and top crust that allows them to work as in betweens in the fiercely stratified society they operate in. The swashbuckler is a martial character who divides their attention between precise, singular strikes and using skills to gain an advantage on the battlefield. Showboating, the swashbuckler gains a swagger called "Panache" that increases their speed and damage while they are showing off- additionally they can expend this status to perform a "finishing move" which will bonus precision damage, even if the swashbuckler fails to hit.

Thaumaturge

Renown- Warriors of the occult arts, Thaumaturges are known for traveling between the realms and slaying terrible beasts. Wielding the forms of ancient implements, these warrior-scholars form orders in the namesake of these implement. Wielding special versions of these implements, agents of The Order of the Wand or Order of the Chalice attend to their agendas, slaying terrible beasts or retrieving artifacts throughout the Nebula. A martial class that excels at improvisation, the homeopathic knowledge of the Thaumaturges will gaslight weaknesses on to enemies that do not even have any. Using their advanced abilities of projection and wishcasting they can mysticize their implements into unique re-usable items that create an interesting one handed (but not free hand) fighting style. With a wide berth of implement abilities the Thaumaturge has the capacity to lie on their resume to fit into many different roles in a party's composition and is a good pick for a moderately difficult playing experience.

Witch

Loci- Drawing on the dark origins of the place, there are some things best kept as secrets in Arboryn. Witchcraft, the profession of the founding matron and dark art that perpetuated her life is weaved into the hills, the people and the woods of that place. Whispers line the foothills waiting for anyone who might listen. Serving their patrons, more than their communities often a witch finds themselves an antagonist in the dramas of the Orphanwild. Whether it be altering the plant life or stirring the spirits of the dead, many have decided witches can do more good for the community from the outside. This versatile spellcasting class has the ability to select the source of their power, their patrons, enabling them to select what kind of magic they want to use.

As such, they provide the prepared intelligence spellcasting experience to every variety of magic - bringing spellcasters that are a bit more skilled and more meditative to the adventuring party. Witches are notable for their extensive utility of familiars, as intermediaries between themselves and their patrons but also as conduits for their powerful hex magic- unique and powerful debuff magic.

Wizard

Renown- Arcane traditions find their way into circulation, all in due time. In the center of the Nebula rages The Great Wizwar, and the meddlesome wiles of wizards lead to all sorts of arcane texts scattered throughout the multiverse. In their curiosity, new schools of magic come from the study of these texts- new and old. Whether an investment in future recruitment or ill gotten novel incantations, all wizards of merit are drawn into this massive six sided conflict where they lay down their magic and often their life. The wizard is a table top classic spellcaster that uses academia to understand the arcane, and uses their knowledge to manipulate the forces of the universe in their favor. A prepared intelligence spellcaster, the wizard brings many trained skills in addition to potent arcane spells that can swing combat in favor of the party. Wizards do not have access to all of their spells and their style of preparation is unique compared to druid or cleric- instead they must collect spells in their spellbook and must prepare them from it. Wizards learn magic from a school, a literal institution of higher learning that typically has a field specialization rather than a broad categorization of spells.