The Challenger
Leveraging over 10 years of experience with the Pathfinder TTRPG system, I crafted The Challenger base class, which represents a fresh interpretation of the Monk archetype within the system. Born from the realm of fighting games and beat-em-ups, this class emerged after extensive playtesting and iterative design processes. The final result seamlessly integrates into any Pathfinder game, maintaining equilibrium in power levels without overshadowing other classes nor falling behind. Remarkably enjoyable to play, The Challenger offers diverse turn-by-turn options and an array of rich and flavorful customization choices during character creation and level-up, drawing inspiration from iconic franchises such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Dragon Ball Z, and Streets of Rage 4.
Apart from a very in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the Pathfinder d20 game engine (itself not a trivial task), creating this class was a real challenge (no pun intended) in many other ways. First of all, the sheer amount of content required to have a class that plays well from level 1 to level 20 is staggering. Additionally, the options have to be consistent in power level and balanced with one another, demanding meticulous attention to detail, to avoid foregone optimal choices that create repetitive play patterns. On top of that, I had to learn how to construct a sleek and professional-looking document that wouldn't be out of place in a Pathfinder book, ensuring it was user-friendly for players. I even delved into experimenting with AI art to vividly bring these powerful and determined characters to life, enhancing the overall experience for players.
Even though this is not the only content I have created for the Pathfinder RPG (notably, you can find my alternate Reincarnation table that includes all published PC reincarnation options pusblished on the Pathfinder SRD), the Challenger still holds a very dear place to me among my designs as the first piece of content I created as an amateur but that I consider good enough to be on-par with professional efforts. You may find a link to the PDF on my resume if you want to give it a spin!
