Review: Pathfinder 2e Arcane Spell Cards, Chase Cards, and Bestiary Battle Cards (Paizo)

When we think about new roleplaying game products, we usually imagine source books with rules, monsters, and character classes, adventure modules that explore some new part of the world, or maps to simplify combat and exploration.

In the last few years, companies expanded that vision with accessory products designed to make their game experiences more engaging and the games themselves easier to play.

This month’s trio of releases for Pathfinder Second Edition from Paizo fall are squarely in that category. They open a whole world of new possibilities for any campaign that wants a little extra spice and players who want help organizing the spells their characters can use.

Let’s take a closer look at these new goodies and see how they make your sessions more exciting for everyone around the table.

Getting a Handle on Your Character’s Spells

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The Arcane Spell Cards put your arcane caster’s spells quite literally into your hand, making your life a lot easier in the process.

Each arcane spell in the core rulebook has a matching card in this collection. Each card in the deck covers a single spell, providing you with everything you need to know about it, from the name, level, and type of spell, to the details of casting, range, and results.

Players with spellcasting characters can go through the box and pull out cards for the spells that they’re preparing during each game session. No more flipping back and forth through rulebooks — the info you need is right there on the cards.

We all know there isn’t enough room to write out spell descriptions on your character sheets. With these cards, your “what does this spell do again?” problems disappear. And when your GM wants to know some obscure detail about the spell, you can hand over the card to answer their question.

The spell cards are arranged in the box by level from low to high, and then sorted alphabetically within each level. It’s intuitive and makes finding the right spell card quick and easy (provided you put the cards back in the right order after the game, so get on that).

Opening the Battle Bestiary

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Moving to the other side of the GM screen, the oversized Bestiary Battle Cards return from Pathfinder first edition to help your game master show the terrors that the adventurers face while easily running the monsters as part of the game.

Each 4” x 6” card face displays beautifully detailed art of a particular monster. The other side lists the monster’s information in the standard stat block format (name, CR, type, and such), along with all of the attacks in that monster’s arsenal.

It’s perfect for boosting your players’ engagement in a scene, since you can literally show the players what the basic creature looks like and then focus your attention on fleshing out the details for this particular encounter. Plus you don’t need to haul around a stack of bestiary books just to make the magic happen.

The cards also help GMs stay organized while running hectic battles. Just lay one or more cards out for easy reference, grab your initiative tracker, and let the mayhem begin.

Putting New Turns into a Chase

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Who doesn’t love a great chase? It builds cinematic tension in your game and gives your players a chance to let their creativity and improvisation skills shine. But they also take extra effort to prepare, especially if you want to make something that can come alive in your players’ imagination. That’s where the Chase Cards accessory deck comes in.

These cards help you flesh out a planned chase or create a wild impromptu scene by giving the GM fresh locations, ideas, and obstacles. Try using the deck to make an interesting transition from point A to point B when the players are hunting someone down. This deck supercharges your creative possibilities.

Each card in the deck shows a particular kind of obstacle in your chase, ranging from the mundane to the magical. Obstacles are organized by location, with about half the deck representing general things that could appear in any setting, like walls, narrow passages, stacks of crates, and random unholy sites. The rest of the deck is split obstacles you’d find underground, in the wilderness, or in urban locales.

In addition to the image of the obstacle, the cards give you the approximate complexity level so you can make sure it matches your party’s skills, plus two suggested skill checks to bypass this problem.

Verdict

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Each of these products help in their own way to make your games easier to run, your stories more fun, and your player experiences more engaging.

It’s hard to not love anything that makes game nights better, so all of these earn solid recommendations. Pick them up at your favorite local retailer today.