Pathfinder 1E Tom Vasel reviews the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Wicht · Aug 30, 2013

And gives it an "8!" Which indicates he really liked it.

[video=youtube;3aHlKfs5vMQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aHlKfs5vMQ[/video]

Besides being an RPGer, I am also an active boardgamer, so for those not involved in both groups, let me just say that getting Tom Vasel (probably this country's #1 boardgame reviewer) to give the game such an endorsement is a pretty big deal. I was ambivalent about the game myself at first, but I am revisiting that and am now looking forward to getting it.

Congratulations to Paizo!

RangerWickett · Aug 30, 2013

At Gen Con I watched my 50-something aunt demo it, looking quite bored, while at the next table over a group of hardcore Pathfinder players were really excited.

Personally, to me it looked like a stealth playtest of an alternative RPG system that isn't D20-reliant. I didn't play enough to get a sense of how well it does that.

Wicht · Aug 30, 2013

I do imagine that a predilection for fantasy adventure might increase the enthusiasm; question to ask: does or would your aunt like Descent 2.0?

As for a stealth playtest, I don't see it. I think the folks at Paizo would be upfront about trying out a new RPG system if that was what they were going for. Admittedly, I haven't yet played it myself, yet, I think it seems to be exactly what it purports to be: an rpg-lite adventure card game capable of being played without a DM in the grand tradition of choose-your-own adventure and T&T. Also, Selinker is a board game designer and I would think that RPG design work would have Bulhman's name on it somewhere. But we shall see.

Kinak · Aug 30, 2013

Great review, thanks for sharing it!

Now I'm all tempted to buy it... or convince our player who missed Burnt Offerings to buy it because GMing already hits my budget pretty hard.

Cheers!
Kinak

Stormonu · Aug 31, 2013

awesome! I tried to suggest some sort of board/card game on the paizo site some months ago. I'm glad to see they did come out with one.

paradox42 · Aug 31, 2013

"This is the game that Talisman wanted to be." Whoa! That sure got my attention! :O

Wicht · Aug 31, 2013

I noticed that too.

For those that might be interested, I just checked. Tom rated Talisman a 4 out of 10, citing clunky mechanics, roll and move, and a reliance on luck to win. He is very fond of Descent (gives it a 10 in both editions), and Runebound (8.5) for comparison. You can use your own experience with games to determine how well your opinion might mesh with his, though generally I find his reviews give me a good enough feel for a game I can make a decision what I will think before buying.

Holy Bovine · Sep 1, 2013

Wicht said:
I noticed that too.

For those that might be interested, I just checked. Tom rated Talisman a 4 out of 10, citing clunky mechanics, roll and move, and a reliance on luck to win. He is very fond of Descent (gives it a 10 in both editions), and Runebound (8.5) for comparison. You can use your own experience with games to determine how well your opinion might mesh with his, though generally I find his reviews give me a good enough feel for a game I can make a decision what I will think before buying.

Well I just can't agree with that 4 on Talisman,

Waaaaaaaaaaayyyy too generous. That game is a 2 if I ever saw one.

Ralsar · Sep 1, 2013

I've played this a lot this week and absolutely agree with Tom's assessment of the game. And Drive Thru Review and Crit Happens and just about everyone else reviewing it. It is a great game.

It isn't a RPG, but it gives you a solid RPG-like experience with character progression and a game that leads to emergent narrative. The inclusion of permadeath really makes for some intense moments in the game. Losing your character is a big consequence.

At my house, Valeros refusing to flee and choosing to face Black Fang and allowing his fate to come down to a single roll of the dice has become legend. Not because he rolled good and survived, but because it was a tense, exciting finish to a very difficult adventure. We chased this dragon across multiple locations and once cornered we had nothing left. Half of us just wanted to abandon the mission and try again another day, but Valeros refused. It was very much the kind of heroic fantasy adventure moment you get from the actual RPG.

It isn't a CCG, but it does give you a CCG-like experience. Sort of. You build a deck of 15 cards to start your character and you get to augment your deck using the items and equipment that you find during your adventures. One of my favorite moments is finishing a scenario and taking a look at the new cards everyone got. It honestly feels like opening a booster pack. What did you get? Oh I got this! Your character could use this, will you trade me for that? Everyone has to get back down to their deck maximum in each category (as detailed on your character card) and the rest of the cards are put back into the box.

Love it.