Pathfinder 1E Just how compatible is Pathfinder?

[pawsplay]

Though it also bears mentioning that my players, at the least, are a lot less likely to grab a prestige class than they were in 3.X. Even the sorcerers.

The Auld Grump

Our wizard decided, on the balance, to keep his Archmage levels, but it didn't make a huge difference. The Contemplative still works fine.

Monsters can be run as-is. Now, for a true converision, monsters may gain a feat or two, and monsters with low skill points and/or Int tend to gain a substantial boost. Between the different rules for cross-class skills and the smaller skill list, many monsters are able to cover Climb, Perception, and maybe another skill that struggled, before, to justify their Alertness feat.

I used plenty of converted monsters from the MMII and MMIII, the Fiendish Codeces, plus templates from Savage Species. with the Bestiary 2 out, my motivation to continue to do has receded.

 

[pawsplay]

duplicate post

 

[Argyle King]

Yeah, 3e characters with sorcerer levels fell into two camps: those with 1 level so they could qualify for a prestige class, or those with 6 levels so they had 3rd level spells and could qualify for a prestige class. Now I would unhesitatingly *actually* take the class. The undead-blooded sorcerer in my game has a lot of fun putting zombies to sleep and charm personing them.

Weird; I actually prefered the Sorc over the Wizard. It was my second favorite class in 3rd Edition. It's interesting to hear how other people play(ed) the game.



Anyway, how hard would it be to port things the other way? Taking Pathfinder Elements and converting them to 3rd Edition?

I'm liking some of what I'm hearing, but I'm disliking some of it too, so I'm still unsure about buying into it completely. With as many 3rd Edition books as I have (I literally have chests of books,) I'm not sure I'd want to dump everything in favor of starting over with what is still essentially 3rd Edition. I like some of the things I've heard via some of the various threads here, and some of what I've read, so I have some interest in taking some of the ideas for a 3rd Edition game.

 

[Stormonu]

Modules, monsters and adventures? 100%. At worst, some monsters could use a touch-up - either using the PF stats or beefing up hp, saves, attack/damage and cleaning up skills. Even then, it's mostly monsters over CR 10 that would need any noticeable change.

The problem is mostly in the stuff on the player's side of the equation. I'd be wary of the compilation books - Spell Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, Complete series. Those books that add new subsystems - such as Incarnum, Weapons of Legacy and the like will most likely work with only a little tweaking.

About the only book I wouldn't contemplate bringing over to PF is Tome of Battle: Book of 9 Swords. 4E simply does that system much better and the high end of that system is just stupid for 3E play.

 

[IronWolf]

I'm liking some of what I'm hearing, but I'm disliking some of it too, so I'm still unsure about buying into it completely. With as many 3rd Edition books as I have (I literally have chests of books,) I'm not sure I'd want to dump everything in favor of starting over with what is still essentially 3rd Edition. I like some of the things I've heard via some of the various threads here, and some of what I've read, so I have some interest in taking some of the ideas for a 3rd Edition game.

You can mix and match as you see fit. See how it plays out and then convert or tweak problem areas that match your game style. It is bound to be more work than sticking with just one system, but if it ends up in a game that you are happy to run for your group then it will be a success for your group.

 

[Cyberzombie]

Weird; I actually prefered the Sorc over the Wizard. It was my second favorite class in 3rd Edition. It's interesting to hear how other people play(ed) the game.

My experiences are, of course, not universal, but you're the first person I can remember who actually likes 3e sorcerers. For me, they couldn't do anything that a specialist wizard couldn't do better -- and one character level quicker. Not so with Pathfinder sorcerers. I'd still gripe about spells coming a level late, but any sorcerer I ran would be very different than a wizard.

Anyway, how hard would it be to port things the other way? Taking Pathfinder Elements and converting them to 3rd Edition?

I saw this question last night before I went to bed and I still don't have an answer for it this morning. I wouldn't go backwards. My favorite part of Pathfinder is the PC classes and that pretty much makes up the bulk of the game. I guess I'm just not the right person to ask about that.

 

[DragonLancer]

My experiences are, of course, not universal, but you're the first person I can remember who actually likes 3e sorcerers. For me, they couldn't do anything that a specialist wizard couldn't do better -- and one character level quicker. Not so with Pathfinder sorcerers. I'd still gripe about spells coming a level late, but any sorcerer I ran would be very different than a wizard.

Not the only one. Under 3.x I also preferred Sorcerers. In fact, I don't think I even considered a Wizard. Wizards had versatility but were locked into their spells for the day, while Sorcerers made for better battle casters, just buying scrolls and wands of the utility spells.

 

[pawsplay]

Anyway, how hard would it be to port things the other way? Taking Pathfinder Elements and converting them to 3rd Edition?

Super easy and worthwhile:
- Boosting HD to match BAB, d6 for slow BAB, d8 for medium, d10 for fast
- Use Pathfinder skill rank rules
- Import the Pathfinder fighter and/or sorcerer wholesale

Also worthwhile, but more work:
- Importing the Vital Strike chain of feats
- Replacing polymorph spells and abilities with Pf versions
- Using Pf skill list

I don't see any downside to the above.

 

[Argyle King]

Not the only one. Under 3.x I also preferred Sorcerers. In fact, I don't think I even considered a Wizard. Wizards had versatility but were locked into their spells for the day, while Sorcerers made for better battle casters, just buying scrolls and wands of the utility spells.

That was one of the selling points for me when it came to the sorcerer. Sure, there times when it would have been nice to have more spell variety, but I had the spells I liked available to me multiple times.

During one game, having a divination sorcerer was nice when the DM sprang the Deck of Many Things on the group.

Super easy and worthwhile:
- Boosting HD to match BAB, d6 for slow BAB, d8 for medium, d10 for fast
- Use Pathfinder skill rank rules
- Import the Pathfinder fighter and/or sorcerer wholesale

Also worthwhile, but more work:
- Importing the Vital Strike chain of feats
- Replacing polymorph spells and abilities with Pf versions
- Using Pf skill list

I don't see any downside to the above.

Thanks for the advice. Like I said, there are things I like about Pathfinder. It's just hard for me to ditch all of the 3rd Edition material I have - especially since I'm not sure how often I'll play. Some of what prompted this thread was having a friend ask about going back to playing a 3rd Edition game.

No matter what I decide, I'm pretty sure I'll at least pick up some of the bestiaries. I like the artwork, and a lot of the monster entries seem to be an enjoyable read. There's also enough information that I can convert a lot of the creatures into one of the universal games I play quite easily.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh, wands and scrolls also featured in why I preferred Wizard - if I really want to cast fireball a dozen times a day I could use a wand. For odd ball spells I can use scrolls, and as a Wizard I can make them for myself.

But the Pathfinder Sorcerer... even I find them tempting. So full of flavor....

If I were trying to port classes from Pathfinder to 3.X then I would do all of them, and keep the Pathfinder feat progression. The balance is different, with Pathfinder classes, on the whole, being more powerful.

The Auld Grump