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What Genius Guide Should I Write? (Patreon)

Published:
2026-09-28 18:59:51
Imported:
2026-10
Tags:

Content

Assume I am going to write an EIGHT-PAGE third-party product for Pathfinder First Edition. "The Genius Guide to... "That's about 6,000 words.It can't cover Golarion, or any other setting that isn't explicitly open.What would you buy, if I made it?

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Comments

Charles Markley

Quick fixes for broken Pathfinder 1e classes, feats, etc., especially some of the later stuff...

Raphael Bressel

The genius guide to overly-complicated spells.

Owen K.C. Stephens

Broken-Too-Good, or Broken-Not-Good-Enough, or Broken-Doesn't-Work-At-All-RAW?

Owen K.C. Stephens

Do you mean spells so complex they are rituals to cast, or spells that cause something extremely complicated to happen, or both?

James Crowder Ii

Maybe a Genius Guide to Pirates, with versions for both sea and airships.

W Birchler

If it's PF1 I will probably buy whatever you put out regardless. Probably not helpful, but there you go. I have pretty much everything you've written for PF1 over the years so, it's an almost automatic buy.

Raphael Bressel

Spells that cause something extremely complicated, or which require extremely complicated rules text, or require complex work on the player’s part. Not in terms of casting time.

Russel McConnell

The Genius Guide to Crafting Useful items to be crafted, and both when and why to use them. I would like it to cover both mundane crafting and magic item crafting. The current iteration of Pathfinder seems to take a dim view of something that I've been fascinated by since BECMI/AD&D1e, and which really got its legs under it in OGL D20 games. Strategy, utility, and economy are key. If you're stopping to take time to craft items, WHY is this important, and how does it benefit you? Lack of supply or variety? Lack of funds? Bending the power curve? Need just the right thing for an upcoming situation?

Keil Hubert

Yes, I would. Your work is excellent, and my main group only plays two games: PF1 and Champions 4. Your past works often find their way into my tweaks to PF1 Adventure Paths the same way that cayenne pepper makes its way into everything I cook.

Alzrius

The Genius Guide to Valkyries and Viragos! Yeah, I still remember that from back in the day! ;)

Francois Emond

Your refurbished shifter would be a good choice (with a few extra abilities or feats thrown in if it does not reach its page count)

Francois Emond

Archetypes for prestige classes. Like the old 3.5 Arcane Hierophant as a Mystic Theurge archetype.

Twelveseal

At 8 pages, that feels like a fairly simple Class, like a Hybrid, with an Archetype or two. I'd honestly love to see you revisit the modular Archetypes series, as you haven't tapped Occult or Skillful Archetypes yet, let alone other 3rd Party content like Spheres, Psionics, Akashic, Social, Romantic, or Initiator Archetypes, but all of these feel like they'd be longer products. That said, I can think of a few specific ideas that could be nice to see in Classes; a monk/cleric hybrid, a published remake of the old Warlock (called, say, the Varlet to avoid lawsuits) that ties them to Witch Patrons and grants special, Sorcerer Bloodline-esque traits based on said Patron (as well as maybe treating Eldritch Blast as a Save/Suck Curse instead of a ranged touch for more IP distance and applying still more opportunities for "Eldritch Blast" changes by having the Patron influence the effects of it), or an attempt to rehash the old Factotum into something new.

Robert Hudson

Personally, what I would most appreciate is new material for the classes that Paizo produced late and that consequently got less material (the occult book and hybrid classes, specifically), or a series of 'fixes' for archetypes that were generally regarded as failures when they were released, like the White Haired Witch or the Brute Vigilante.

Charles Markley

If only 8 pages, then how about the top 3 of each?

Everybody Games

The real point is now you’ve got three product ideas out of this. :3

Everybody Games

The Genius Guide to the Inventor. I’m curious to see how you would do a distinctly PF2 class in 1E.

Silver Griffon

Sorry for the delay in getting this to you. Like W Birchier I have all the stuff you have put out for PF1. Though I will admit, the only reason I have the horrifically overpowered stuff is because they were part of a bundle I got with other things I wanted. Respectfully, when you say you don't advise putting it in our games, I decided it wasn't a product I needed to get. As far as things I would like to see coming, off the top of my head & in no particular order: The Genius Guide to the Nimble Swashbuckler. I tried to find an alternate name for the class so it could be distinct from Paizo's swashbuckler class. But, I couldn't find anything I like nearly as much. Mechanically it might be solid. But I don't know how you can consider it a swashbuckler if it doesn't do anything to encourage you to move around, does little to encourage you to try maneuvers, or make quips at your opponent. They don't all have to be there, but at least 2 should be. Personally, I have been using the old scout class with a luck mechanic added on, & a scaling bonus on CMB to do it. I would love to see what someone like you could do with it. Next would be the Genius Guide to Multiclassing 2 (and maybe 3 as well). There have been a lot new classes since the original came out, & I would love to see some for stuff like some of the classes like the kineticist, medium & spiritualist. From the ACG the bloodrager, investigator, shaman & skald. Even better if you are comfortable with doing it for some 3rd party classes. I would mostly be interested in stuff from Rogue Genius Games & Dreamscarred Press. The Genius Guide to Improved Familiars. I know in the Familiar Handbook they made improved familiar a feat that could get you a stronger creature. But before that I remember some 3E books, (like the Troll Lords Games, The Book of Familiars) where you could keep a regular animal & give it more magical abilities as you advanced. Or do the same for a more powerful creature later on. Also, more familiar archetypes like from the Familiar Folio. Finally some rules for having multiple familiars. Like Jamie had Fox & Owl in the early Endless Quest books. The Genius Guide to Patrons. I love that Pathfinder leaves the nature of patrons open so that people can come up with stuff that works for them. But, having seen a lot of player flounder when it came up to inventing thing like this, I can see a need for some sample patrons that show interesting ways they could work. Do all patrons only give access to one set of spells, or can they have 2 or 3 & the witch chooses which aspect they get the spells from when the character is made. Especially needed are what they might require from the witch for their magic. Maybe something on the true nature of the familiar they give to the witch. More patron hexes would be great since I thought they were an excellent idea. The next thing I would like to see would likely end up being a series. I would love to see more of the wizard specializations become classes themselves. Inspired by Paizo’s new & awesome take on the necromancer, as well as the summoner class or the old beguiler. Would you feel comfortable making the new necromancer back into 1E, or would you want to do your own take on it. The Genius Guide to More Monster Templates would be great. Though based on some of the creatures you came up with for the talented bestiary & the examples you did for the simple class templates book, a book of interesting monster combos would also be of interest. Finally I would like to second the idea of a Genius Guide to rituals. Sorry that this turned into a wall of text. Thank you for giving us a chance to pitch you ideas & reading this far.

Nathan West

I am very late to the party here, and maybe this is not the right place to post. If there is a better place, let me know. I would love a Genius Guide to Elementals. I have always felt like elementals don't have the right special abilities for creatures composed of fire, water, earth, and air. And if that isn't enough material, there are always para-elementals and quasi-elementals. Not sure how much of those is open source.

Owen K.C. Stephens

Still useful content! I have some elemental content sitting in old folders, I should pull it out and reconsider it.

Nathan West

Here are some things I've struggled with over the years. I am planning on rewriting elementals for my recently created homebrew, but I'm confident you would do a much better job. Air Elementals: They are basically treated as solid creatures for combat. They can be grappled or trippied? They should be able to suffocate enemies and deflect ranged attacks. Water Elementals: They should be more fluid and be able to drown enemies. They should be pretty much immune to weapon damage but take special damage from some spells. Fire Elementals: Burn ability seems to weak for a creature that is living fire. They don't illuminate the battlefield. They don't cause any damage to weapons that attack them (melt or burn). Earth Elementals: These are the least bad. They should have an ability to engulf or entomb opponents.