Guns & Gears

Pathfinder, the fantasy TTRPG that made a name for itself by properly and powerfully sustaining the legacy of the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, got its second edition ruleset in 2019. Publisher Paizo has been adding tons of books to bring it closer to the remarkably expansive first edition—which was, until another game on this list showed up—my personal favorite fantasy TTRPG. Guns & Gears arrived toward the end of last year, but its contribution to Pathfinder’s second edition makes it worthy of the inclusion on this list.

I ran a single mini-campaign of second edition’s The Fall of Plaguestone not too long ago, and while I and the other players had a great time, the density of the rules demands that this game probably be your only fantasy TTRPG, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to commit to that.

That was until I took a look at Guns & Gears, which has me very tempted to summon a group together to jump back into Pathfinder Second Edition. For me, a fantasy setting needs guns. I don’t care if it ruins the centrality of magic. In fact, I think it should. Deconstruct everything.

Guns & Gears is a nice companion volume to the core rules, offering up backgrounds and archetypes and tons of cool gear. It isn’t just guns either. There’s tons of cool, well, “Gear” here if you want to dial back the “guns” and go for less explosive projectile weapons, and want to make use of character classes like the Inventor, who can devise all sorts of fun contraptions to cause trouble for enemies.

The new Gunslinger class feels way more digestible than the first edition’s, making the most out of the second edition’s exhaustive feats lists and “Action Economy.”

God damn it, I want to play Pathfinder again.