Pathfinder 1E Fixing The Pathfinder Game System

[innerdude]

I thought about doing a similar "reboot" for Pathfinder back in 2011.......then I realized that some really cool company named Crafty Games had already done pretty much 90% of the rebooting I would have done with this little thing called Fantasy Craft.

 

[dazzlerdal]

Well if anyone fancies making a new game mine is almost halfway through and I could always do with the ideas.

As for fixing pathfinder. Everyone always says "this doesn't fix anything" indeed when I first started and proposed removing level based progression of BAB, Fort, Ref, and Will several people said that it fixes nothing, that's no reason not to do it anyway (and I happened to disagree with their opinion somewhat).

For me the trick was to identify what I felt was the core problem with pathfinder/3.5 and that was their attempt to balance the unbalanceable (not sure that's a word) by implementing a progression of BAB, Fort, Ref, Will at differing rates the system always results in a maths problem whereby it becomes impossible to beat the scores of some characters with static statistics like spell DCs.

So the core problem for me was to remove that progression. Then i made everything attack rolls so there were no static statistics involved and everything has an equal chance of success.



So figure out what you have the biggest problem with, then think of the simplest solution to that problem (even if the simplest solution is to throw out the existing mechanic and redesign it). A lot of the existing mechanics have evolved from previous iterations of systems and the original choice to implement it was a rather arbitrary decision. So come up with something that makes sense to your system and you can't go far wrong.

Or just jump on the back of my system and help me, it would make my life much easier

 

[ren1999]

I like your comments dazzlerdal, yeah. That is also what I want to do.

 

[Starfox]

There is a certain 5E envy about this thread. Nothing wrong with that. Actually, I suggest you run down this envy to its logical conclusion - play 5E and add what you like from Pathfinder.

Take the spells, classes and archetypes you like from Pathfinder and add them onto the 5E frame.

I'd be tempted to do this myself, except that without an OGL, anything one writes for 5E is basically illegal.

 

[Lwaxy]

I did "fix" PF several times over. Houserules are the way to go, and because my groups are/were often different in play style, the houserules tend to vary.

 

[Thotas]

Speaking of Crafty Games, did they ever come out with their science fiction/space opera material? What they did with the spy stuff always had me optimistic about how they would handle that genre.

 

[ren1999]

Can you all link me to your houserules, Pathfinder fixes you've been talking about?

 

[ExoKnight]

I have GMed Pathfinder on and off for the past five years. The highest levels my PCs were was 11th level. I didn't really notice anything breaking down. The system has run great for my groups. We just have the understanding that we aren't going to abuse the system.

 

[Wolf72]

... The system has run great for my groups. We just have the understanding that we aren't going to abuse the system.

I'm at this point, too.

 

[Starfox]

I never really had any problems in actual PF play. Reading the rules, it seems overly complex, but in actual play it works pretty well.