Paizo Prepares Playtests for Daredevil and Slayer, Surpassing 30 Class Options

Paizo aired a livestream on February 14 that showcased two new Pathfinder 2e playtest classes, the Daredevil and the Slayer, with Pathfinder 2e Senior Designer Jason Keeley and Designer Costin Wilken-Schelling on hand to overview and run live playtesting; ComicBook.com reports a recording of the stream is available for players wanting an early look. ComicBook.com further states that playtests for those two classes are being prepared for players to try.

The Daredevil was described by ComicBook.com as “a martial combatant with a very physical presence on the field,” while the Slayer was described as “a monster-slaying focused class. It takes inspiration from the 1e Slayer class, but is not a direct update of it.” Community commentary compiled on Reddit also flagged a mechanical resemblance to existing options, with one user saying, “Daredevil : looks a hell of a lot like the Swashbuckler. Panache has been renamed Adrenaline, the class looks cool but I'm honestly not sure why it's not just a Swashbuckler class archetype.”

Those two new previews arrive amid a steady stream of Paizo playtests. Geek to Geek Media documented the Animist and Exemplar playtest window as running September 1, 2023 through October 2, 2023, with Demiplane hosting a free character builder and Foundry VTT adding an automated module on September 1, 2023. Enworld reported that the Necromancer and Runesmith entered a playtest from December 9, 2024 through January 31, 2025, and ComicBook.com says those two classes will be collected in the Impossible Magic sourcebook slated for July 30, 2026.

Enworld provided mechanical summaries for the earlier pair: “The necromancer is described as a prepared caster class that can summon disposable thralls to the field to hinder (or explode in the vicinity of) enemies, while the runesmith is a martial class that buffs themselves and allies via etched runes or alternatively debuffing foes.” ComicBook.com also notes the Impossible Magic book will include rules for returning Magus and Summoner options.

Playtest delivery has leaned on Paizo’s Playtest website and Demiplane; Enworld specifically said the Necromancer/Runesmith playtest launched on both the Paizo Playtest site and Demiplane. Geek to Geek recorded Paizo-maintained playtest forums on paizo.com and named the Class Survey and the Open Response Survey as feedback mechanisms for Animist/Exemplar playtests.

Community reaction and livestream notes circulated rapidly. Reddit user u/RiverMesa compiled livestream details and labeled the compilation incomplete, including flavor lines such as “Skeleton Weapon Inventor: Uses a pantograph gauntlet... 'His name is Fred. Fred uses a Pantograph Gauntlet.'” Other community snippets included a “Polymath Bard” impression and a reaction ability reproduced from u/Xethik: “On the Hunt : Reaction 'Trigger You see your quarry be critically hit, or any creature within 60ft be reduced to 0 hit point... You gain the Quickened condition...'”

Counting the roster remains disputed across outlets. ComicBook.com wrote that “Pathfinder currently has a grand total of 27 published classes, with 2 more on the way this year” and projected that “Once these 2 join the fray, probably in 2027 or beyond, Pathfinder will have a grand total of 30 playable classes.” Enworld, by contrast, listed 25 classes and named commander and guardian as additions planned for the 2025 Battlecry rulebook.

ComicBook.com provides the July 30, 2026 Impossible Magic date and the livestream recording, but Paizo has not issued a single consolidated schedule or class-count confirmation in the materials cited here; players interested in hands-on testing should watch the available stream, check the Paizo Playtest website and Demiplane for playtest signups, and follow Paizo’s playtest forums for official packets and survey links.