Secrets of Magic is the biggest Pathfinder 2e book published this year
PathfinderPathfinder Secrets of Magic is a new sourcebook for the second edition of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. It will be available on September 1. Logan Bonner, the lead designer, and Mark Seifter co-wrote this book. He sat down to give Polygon a guided tour. This is Paizo’s biggest publication of the year, according to Bonner.
Secrets of Magic contains two new character classes, the Magus and the Summoner. Both are designed for the second edition of the tabletop roleplaying game. There are many spells and magical items. A section called Book of Unlimited Magic is also included in the book. This section explains how to incorporate magic into your world using narrative and mechanical concepts. It can help you make your home games stand out from the rest.
Pathfinder was originally spun out of Dungeons & Dragons and retains much of the complexity of that TTRPG’s 3.5 edition. Bonner states that Secrets of Magic was designed to follow that format closely. This model was updated in 2019 with the second edition.
Bonner stated, “We wanted to maintain the same vibe.” Bonner explained, “This is a complex game with many choices, lots of options and a lot to customize your characters, and to feel that the rules support the story you want with your character.”
Polygon launched the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. I was impressed with its tactical combat and the clever narrative hooks. Secrets of Magic delivers on its promise and offers a wide range of options for players and game masters.
Bonner stated, “This is kinda a chance to discuss magic as a conceptual,” Bonner added, “We have many things that use magic but we don’t really get into what magic is, where and how it came from, or how people think about it and use it.” We want to make that information available early in the [second] edition.
The book opens with an extensive section called Essentials of Magic. It’s a collection of in-fiction documents that are sometimes annotated manually using in-fiction secondary resources. The magus and summoner are next.
Bonner stated, “Refreshed” is, I believe, a great way to put it.” “We examined the mechanics of the original, but we really reassessed how they would work from the beginning.”
Bonner said that the magus is a classic “gish” character, skilled in both melee combat and spellcasting — not unlike the Witcher. Spell strike is the special ability to load spells into their weapons and then unleash the effects upon contact. A stance called arcane cascade allows them to deal ongoing damage over time.
The summoner is a pet class that grants players access to a mighty companion creature, the eidolon. Eidolons come in many forms: they can be dragons or plants, demons and angels, and other cuddly and horrifying creatures. Pathfinder 2e will have a more complex gameplay style thanks to both classes. There are plenty of options for role-playing and narrative rabbit holes.
Bonner stated that both classes have spell casting but not direct spell casters like wizards or clerics. Although they get quite a few spells because of other important things, they don’t have nearly as many. They can still use the same level of spells, but they don’t have as many at each level.
Secrets of Magic covers many topics, and we won’t have the time to cover it all in this preview. One of the most exciting aspects for me is the ability to integrate magic into the game. The Book of Unlimited Magic, which I mentioned above, might be my favourite chapter.
