Ultimate Intrigue
Published by Paizo Publishing
The latest of the Ultimate series books is packed with a ton of themed information. This is a gem for any espionage player or GM. Ultimate Intrigue features the Vigilante base class, new archetypes, feats, intrigue systems, social combat, new spells, and gear.
Vigilante base class has some pretty cool perks. The first and the coolest is the ability to have dual identities – like Batman! The class has the option for each identity to have a different alignment. My GM would have a lot of fun with that concept, and as a player it would be a great challenge to role-play. Beyond that you get to pick a path of specialization as an avenger or a stalker. An avenger gains an attack bonus equal to the character level, while a stalker capitalizes on stealth to gain 1d8 precision damage on flanked, flat-footed or otherwise unaware foes. This increases 1d8 every two levels. There are also several Vigilante talents. My favorite has to be Blind Spot. It allows the character to hide from creatures with special senses like Tremor Sense. That’s something I could have used in my last adventure.
There are of course several new archetypes in Ultimate Intrigue, and while many of them are specialized most can be used without too much difficulty. My favorite is the Guild Breaker, a Ranger who specializes in taking down an enemy organization. The difference is that the bonuses they get are applied to an enemy organization instead of to a favored enemy. This archetype also gets Deep Cover, which allows bonuses to Bluff and Disguise against the enemy organization.
