PaizoCon Announcements: Bestiary 5, Ultimate Intrigue, & More!

Last week, Paizo held their annual convention known simply as "PaizoCon". As per usual, the company announced a handful of upcoming products and revealed some interesting stuff during their preview banquet, some of which I'd like to discuss.

First, Paizo revealed the new iconics for the six classes that will be included in next month's Occult Adventures. These classes will utilize psychic magic, Pathfinder's version of psionics with a more occult feel to it. I was a big fan of these classes, finding them interesting from both a mechanical sense and a flavor position, and these guys look pretty cool.

We know the one of the far left is the psychic and the second to the right is the occultist, so I guess it's time to speculate on the others. I feel the second to the left is the spiritualist (and its awesome to see that its an older woman), then we have the medium, the kinectisit, and finally the mesmerist. I can't wait to read the "Meet the Iconics" articles for these guys and gals.

They also announced Bestiary 5 will be hitting store shelves this fall. Honestly, I was hoping for a NPC Codex 2 that gave us ready made stat blocks for NPCs using classes from the Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, and Advanced Class Guide instead of another Bestiary. I very rarely use anything from the later Bestiaries, but I could always use more stat blocks for NPCs to save myself prep time. I'll probably pick it up as a PDF, but I'm not all that pumped for it.

Unlike Bestiary 5, this one has me more conflicted. Ultimate Intrigue is the next entry in the "Ultimate" line of supplements and is scheduled for a Spring 2016 release. This book will introduce options for more skill-based classes and a system for handling social situations and the like, which seems pretty cool. However, they're also introducing a new class called the vigilante. This sounds like something that could have easily been an archetype for the rogue or the slayer. I want to be optimistic, but the handling of the Advanced Class Guide and how several of those classes felt like things that should have just been archetypes makes me more hesitant on this front. 

They also announced the next expansion of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. After Wrath of the Righteous, we'll get one for Mummy's Mask. This one will also feature three Occult Adventures iconics. I'm going to guess it'll be the psychic, the occultist, and probably the spiritualist. Although I don't currently own a copy of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, I do thoroughly enjoy it and will probably enjoy this one as well. 

The next announcement is about the adventure path that will follow Hell's Rebels. This one, called Hell's Vengeance, will be one where you play evil PCs and based upon the name, it will probably be tied with the one that comes before it. I'm interested to see how Paizo tackles this and will keep my eyes open, especially since the adventure paths where they diverge from the more traditional tropes tend to be the best. 

Finally, Paizo revealed the next installment of their miniatures line, The Rusty Dragon Inn. As the name implies, this expansion will focus on more friendly miniatures you might use as NPCs while in town or at a bar. While I personally don't buy their miniatures (preferring the pawns), this could be pretty useful for those who do.

What are your thoughts about these announcements? Are you excited? Nervous? or ambivalent? Anything you're particularly looking forward to or dreading? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.