Pathfinder to Lost Frontier Conversion Tips

Classes
Some classes, such as the Gunslinger, are easy to fit into the world of the Lost Frontier. Others are rooted in vanilla Pathfinder concepts that don't have a direct Lost Frontier analog.

To convert a class, you just need to make their role and abilities make sense in the new setting. As an example, we'll look at a class that needs a medium amount of reworking: the Cleric class.

A cleric provides a bit of a challenge - all their abilities are divine, and come from the deity they worship. Since there is no pantheon in the Lost Frontier, and since God isn't a slot machine who dispenses spells in exchange for the right prayers, that won't work.

He could perhaps be a frontier surgeon, with a strong belief in the value of human life. He sees blood metal as a way to save lives. The cleric believes strongly that there is a connection between the human body and the properties of blood metal, and that the key to unlocking the power of blood metal is to understand the makeup of the human body - and, of course, vice versa. While he has sworn to "do no harm", the cleric understands that this oath only applies to his patients, not to any man or beast who would try to make someone his patient.

Take that same line of thinking to any other class you wish to convert. The major differences to keep in mind are:
 * All magic needs to be converted to blood metal. There is no pool of magical energy that spellcasters are able to access - instead, it's a reserve of blood metal. A partial exception: in the Lost Frontier, the spiritual realm is a real place that all mortals have a connection to. Many are completely unaware of this connection, or ascribe its affects to other things. A very few are able to see the connection for what it is, and even affect the spiritual realm in small ways. The Oracle and Druid classes use this concept, along with blood metal, to explain their abilities.


 * In Pathfinder, good and evil are two equal and opposite forces. In the Lost Frontier, the force of evil is simply an absence of good, not a force in and of itself. Evil beings are those who have rejected God's ways, and evil acts are acts that go against God's laws. There are some who attempt to channel the power of demons and other beings who champion evil, but this is a consuming, destructive, suicidal path. There is no analogue for "becoming evil to defeat evil" in the Lost Frontier.


 * Conversely, good isn't a slot machine waiting to hand out blessings. Goodness is justice, order, mercy, and love. Acts that align with those values may result in rewards, but typically not in any kind of power or granted wishes.


 * In Pathfinder, gods and angels and devils and demons are just creatures from other places, with their own agendas. They have free will, and will sometimes "switch sides" or act against their nature to achieve a given end. That doesn't happen in the Lost Frontier. Demons and those who commit themselves to demons are permanently lost to evil. Conversely, God is completely good, and so is anyone who works for him (angels). In this setting, he doesn't do much direct intervention, preferring to work through people.

Races
The nine primary races of the Lost Frontier have been converted from Pathfinder already.

The setting has some built in hooks to explain the existence of another race, if a player wishes to play something other than the nine primary races:
 * More touched races: While there were only three demon princes primarily mentioned during Hell on Earth, it is entirely plausible there were others. Perhaps they were operating in another area, or kept a low enough profile as to not be worth noting in the histories. One thing to keep in mind: though a touched race has been changed by a powerful demon, they were never actually joined to that demon. Selling your soul to the devil is a one way street - anyone who willingly becomes a host for demonic essence, or who received a mark of the beast is not only damned, but has become irrevocably evil. Once that line is crossed, a person loses the ability to even want to be redeemed, becoming completely consumed by evil.


 * More experiments: The timmen were the result of scientific experimentation. Perhaps there are others attempting something similar - using blood metal to affect biological makeup, or experiments of a Frankensteinian nature. Be careful not to go too sci-fi here, though - keep it at steampunk-esque tech levels at most.

Keep in mind that demons are incapable of creation, restricted exclusively to altering or corrupting things already in existence.
 * Warped by the west: the laws of nature were kicked to the curb by the Breach, and while things mostly righted themselves after Hell on Earth, there was a long period of time where weird things were happening all the time. one of those weird things could very well have been physical changes to a group of people.

Magic System
In the Lost Frontier, blood metal functions mostly as a "skin" for Pathfinders magic system. That is to say, the look and feel have changed but the mechanics of the system have not.

Most spells and systems can be transferred over from Pathfinder to the Lost Frontier without substantial changes beyond reskinning. Below are some brief suggestions; players are free to use their own reskinning ideas with GM approval.

Spontaneous vs. Prepared casting: Spontaneous casters are known as metal burners, or just burners, in the Lost Frontier. They have an inborn knack for channeling the mysterious properties of Deep Ore, simply ingesting it and drawing on it as a power source. Spontaneous casters usually keep flakes of various alloys stored in small glass containers, suspended in fluid (typically liquor). A few flakes of metals are enough to fuel a day's worth of casting, on average.

Prepared casters are known as metal benders, or just benders. They are unable or unwilling to channel the power of blood metal by ingesting it. Instead, they approach the metal from the stance of an artist or a scholar. A bard may follow his instincts, shaping blood alloys into runes that seems to flow with a melody he is writing, or is inspired by artwork he is creating. A wizard approaching blood metals with the mind of a scientist, studying the various reactions blood alloys have to different stimuli and moldings, recording particularly successful experiments in his note book to recreate as needed.

Divine spells: instead of channeling the power of a divine deity, divine casters see a deep, almost spiritual connection between their own loyalties and convictions and the use of blood metal. A druid draws inspiration for her blood metal runes from nature, believing that the closer her runic shapes mimic the essence of living things, the more powerful they will be. A cleric might function as a frontier sawbones, applying his understanding of and value for human life to his theories on the use of blood metals.

Arcane spells: Arcane spells are often drawn more from the caster's own need or desire, or are based on proven uses for blood metals. An arcane spellcaster can certainly have strong convictions about their use of blood metals, but they are less likely to see a mystical connection between the two.

Other spells: Reskinning could go a number of different directions. Perhaps a kineticist had blood metals injected directly into her bloodstream or brain, granting her abilities that few have and even fewer understand. Or a medium who has found a way to connect his biological makeup with blood metal runes, allowing him to enhance and exceed his normal physical limitations in various ways.

Wands, potions, scrolls, etc: The reason blood metal snake oil salesman are often successful is because there are tinctures that use blood metals to achieve incredible effects. Wands can be reskinned as specialized firearms, or as objects created with blood metals in such a way as to ape spell effects. Scrolls can be thin scrolls of blood aluminum decorated with runes written in blood metal infused ink.

Reskinning Pathfinder for the Lost Frontier will be a collaborative effort that will continue to solidify as we play the game. No good idea that fits the setting will go unconsidered.