NPCs are a continuous challenge to a GM. Stat lines, motivations, all that stuff, it all takes time and effort. To alleviate that burden, some companies release NPC books. Paizo has followed that pattern, and released the NPC Core book. Time to dive in!
NOTICE: I was provided an electronic copy of this book by Paizo for review purposes.
Background
This is not a first for Pathfinder. During the 1st Edition (Pathfinder Chronicles), there was the Pathfinder Chronicles NPC Guide, released early in the game’s life cycle in 2010. They followed this book up with the NPC Codex in 2012 and Inner Sea NPC Codex in 2013. Providing NPCs and NPC templates has been a big part of Pathfinder since day one. Now, it’s time for Pathfinder 2nd Edition (Remaster) to get its book!
Contents
This is a 239 page beast of a book, and it’s far more than just a list of NPCs. Very technically, there’s three sections. The NPC Gallery covers a broad selection of backgrounds/occupations for NPCs. Ancestry NPCs provides details on how to change the ancestries of the presented NPCs from the NPC Gallery. The final section is the Appendix, which covers info and concepts that have broader applications. But having written that out, it doesn’t do justice to the full content of the book.
The Good
Guidance. So. Much. Guidance. Since the relaunch of 2nd edition with the remaster, Paizo has made it clear in their book design, content, and layout that they’re not just making books for people already in and/or experienced in their ecosystem. They’re making books that experienced and novice players and GMs alike can make use of. This practice continues into the NPC Core book.
This book doesn’t over every walk of life and occupation an NPC could have, but it has a phenomenal selection. Everything from Artisans to Gun Witches to Scholars to straight up Villains. All carefully stat’d out and designed for ease of use.
THE SIDE BARS. Throughout this book are sidebars, denoted by icons indicating Additional Lore, Advice and Rules, Locations, Related Creatures, and Treasure and Rewards. These are some of the best pieces of GM advice I’ve seen in decades in the hobby. It’s not just GMs either, from the player side, a lot of these could be used to develop character backgrounds, interests, and more. I cannot stress enough how good these are.
The book makes its references known! Right there on the second page of the table of content, there’s a text box that specifically points the reader to Monster Core (MC) and Player Core 2 (PC2). I have been wanting to see this in books FOREVER, and here it is. Unambiguous. Direct. I love it.
The Art. This time it’s not just the diversity. That’s there. It’s a Paizo standard that they aren’t backing down from. Pathfinder has always been a science-fantasy game, but the first edition leaned hard on its D&D roots and imagery, where the “science” side of the genre was limited in favour of a more dungeon punk aesthetic. This book’s are is a declaration that Pathfinder 2nd Edition (Remastered) is SCIENCE-fantasy. It’s actively placing the game’s aesthetic and vibe in a different place and I love it. Oh, and as a bonus, lots of representation. And it’s not subtle. Which I also love.
GEAR! There’s so much fun equipment in this book, and I’m here for it.
The Bad
The book is only partially linked internally. The main table of contents in linked, but noting else. It’s a good step forward, but I’m still missing those fully linked pdfs from the 1st Edition days.
There’s a lot of things going on in this book, and I think it would have been a good time to release an NPC/story tracker sheet. The remaster Core books have a lot of moving parts, and some tracking sheets would go a long way to easing things on the GM.
The Ugly
I got nothing. Paizo has their design, layout, planning, and the rest locked down.
Final Thoughts
I give this book an enthusiastic Rank S. This book is outstanding and is a strong indication to me that Paizo is not only taking things seriously, but also taking a stand. For its ups and downs, and missteps, Paizo has been a company that embraced diversity when its originating content still thought having Black iconic characters was “a touchy subject”. The NPC Core book is not only an excellent book with strong benefits for GMs and players, it’s also a defiantly diverse book being released into an increasingly hostile environment. And I’m down.
Check out more about the NPC Core book on the Official Paizo website.
