War of Immortals Playtest on Pathfinder NEXUS

As a playtest, expect bumps, rough edges, a few bugs, and class elements that may still need balancing. Since these classes aren't in their final form, there will likely be some formatting quirks as well as a few naming discrepancies related to the upcoming Remaster (for more information on Pathfinder NEXUS's Remaster Program, including free upgrades to Player Core and GM Core, click here).

For all these reasons, your participation and feedback are critical. You can provide survey responses here, and open response feedback here. 

The new animist and exemplar classes are fully buildable from levels 1-20 within the Character Tools on Pathfinder NEXUS. The playtest classes are accessible to all Pathfinder NEXUS users; in fact, if you build animists and exemplars using options from the Pathfinder Primer, your playtest experience will be completely free. 

When the playtest ends, your shiny new animists and exemplars won't disappear. The playtest rules related to the classes will be archived, but your characters will remain accessible and usable. Pathfinder NEXUS will not delete, retire, or suspend your characters.

Without spoiling too much of your own discovery, the animist is a divine caster with a special connection to apparitions and the spirit world. It's a highly flexible class, with the ability to change their capabilities during daily preparations. Expect to find six thematically and functionally unique spirits to ally with, and two unique Practices (subclasses). One emphasizes the natural versatility of the animist, while the other provides a set of flavorful spirit-related immunities.

Starting at sixth level, your animist can take certain feats with a special trait that makes them retrainable during daily preparations. Did we mention this class is flexible? At higher levels, expect to find capstone features that literally allow you to become one with your apparitions with the effect of a customized avatar spell. Power overwhelming!

To get a better feel for the animist class, you might think of them being similar to a few fictional characters: Cole Sear (The Sixth Sense), Oda Mae Brown (Ghost), Yoh Asakura (Shaman King), Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice), and Elise Rainier (Insidious).

If you've ever wanted a character that went full on Chosen One (the trope, not the background!), the exemplar may be the class for you. Infused with a fragmented shard of godhood, exemplars nurture their own personal divine spark to become living legends with the potential to attain immortality and mastery of a divine domain. 

Exemplars are martial characters augmented by their own divine power. Though lightly armored, all exemplars possess three unique ikons to aid them: a body ikon that enhances survivability, a weapon ikon that increases attack effectiveness, and a worn ikon that provides special benefits to nearby allies. An Epithet system provides further customization, beginning with simple epithets such as, "Diomedas the Radiant," and ending up at high levels with something badass like, "Radiant Diomedas, Peerless Under Heaven, Thief of Moonlight." Feat selection will often present you with the choice to either embrace the gods or reject them for their destructive meddling.

Some exemplar examples might include: Kratos (God of War), Neo (The Matrix), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Maui (Maori cultural tradition), and Goku (Dragon Ball Z).

The playtest will be available from 9/1 through 10/2. Thank you for helping shape the future of Pathfinder!