Pathfinder 2E Pathfinder To Get New Core Rulebooks Soon

It's not just D&D that's getting a 'revised' set of core books--Pathfinder is also getting 'remastered' books! The core rulebooks are being replaced by a new set of books, with new names, but like D&D it is being reiterated that this is not a new edition--"With the exception of a few minor variations in terminology and a slightly different mix of monsters, spells, and magic items, the rules remain largely unchanged."

The existing Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Gamemastery Guide, Bestiary, and Advanced Player’s Guide are being replaced with Pathfinder Player Core, Pathfinder GM Core, Pathfinder Monster Core, and Pathfinder Player Core 2.

These books appear to focus on re-organization and consolidation of existing material rather than substantive changes. They also represent Paizo's move away from the Open Gaming License and towards the new Open RPG Creative (ORC) license. Paizo says "This transition will result in a few minor modifications to the Pathfinder Second Edition system, notably the removal of alignment and a small number of nostalgic creatures, spells, and magic items exclusive to the OGL. These elements remain a part of the corpus of Pathfinder Second Edition rules for those who still want them, and are fully compatible with the new remastered rules, but will not appear in future Pathfinder releases."

Pathfinder 2E - Paizo Reveals Wayne Reynolds' Pathfinder Remastered Cover Sketches

While the final colour pieces won't arrive for a few weeks, Paizo's Erik Mona revealed the cover sketches of the upcoming Pathfinder Remastered core rulebooks while at the GAMA industry trade show yesterday. In an unsual move, you will actually be able to buy special 'sketch' editions of the...

www.enworld.org

 

[Retreater]

Perhaps, but because I love spellcasters, this means I am unable to enjoy or play Pathfinder − even during a time when I was aggressively looking for a non-5e gaming system to play.

Things with 5e have settled down. But I have a new respect for indy RPGs, and am still interested in playing them. It is a shame that Pathfinder cannot be one of these for me.

For the same reason I hate D&D Cleric "heal bots", I hate all Pathfinder 2 spellcasters.

The "support role" sucks.

I've found spellcasters come in clutch in some key moments: fireballs against swarms, etc.
I can understand your frustration, but every character in PF2 is essentially a "support role." A successful party depends on everyone working in unison and buffing each other. A fighter standing toe-to-toe with a big bad is going to die. A rogue existing for max DPS is going to get smeared.
PF1 was different. It's still out there with many fans if you'd like to try that. No shame in playing a classic, IMO.

 

[Retreater]

The covers (or alt covers?) have been revealed.

These look like the covers of a playtest product - like an unfinished book. Not a fan of them.
I'm hoping that the alt covers for the next Pathfinder (v2.12) will be more to my liking.

 

[Davies]

Also:
View attachment 283109
STRICTLY because of this image, I love the Proteans and want to play as this dapper fellow or something like this!

Ah, you want to be a ganzi kobold. Simple enough.

 

[Retreater]

Paizo needs to offer an official apology, preferably on an industry-leading platform such as EN World, to the RPG community for the withholding of information they used to take advantage of buyers.

I will accept as an apology if they made all of their rules content available online for free.
Until that happens, I'll refuse to GM Pathfinder 2.
(I have a game in 1 hour and 45 minutes - so get to work, Paizo!)

 

[Reef]

These look like the covers of a playtest product - like an unfinished book. Not a fan of them.
I'm hoping that the alt covers for the next Pathfinder (v2.12) will be more to my liking.

I have to admit I sort of like them. But I’m weird in that I’ve always enjoyed his pencils more than the finished paintings

 

[Yaarel]

I've found spellcasters come in clutch in some key moments: fireballs against swarms, etc.
I can understand your frustration, but every character in PF2 is essentially a "support role." A successful party depends on everyone working in unison and buffing each other. A fighter standing toe-to-toe with a big bad is going to die. A rogue existing for max DPS is going to get smeared.
PF1 was different. It's still out there with many fans if you'd like to try that. No shame in playing a classic, IMO.

"Swarms"

Yeah, no thanks.

Death to the "support role".

Long live egalitarian equality!

 

[Velderan]

This sounds great! Tho I kinda wish they hadn't announced it so far out. Anyone looking to start PF2 are going to hit pause for a year now. I know I will.

It's worse for Starfinder IMO, because they've said "not yet" when asked about Starfinder getting a similar treatment. They've already announced Starfinder Enhanced too. That's only going to make people hesitant to buy new books if they're interested in the system until there's some clarity on what the future plans are so hopefully they provide more info soon.

 

[Deadstop]

My problem is with the lack of transparency and the misleading statements made by this company during January. There was no indication during the sales spike that the rulebooks being purchased were, let's be honest here, being replaced. Using an old rulebook and needing to reference the errata or bringing up AoN when you play is not the way most of those purchasers envisioned their future with PF2E. It's even more sickening this statement acknowledges the profits from those sales were at least part of the impetus behind making them outdated so quickly. Paizo needs to offer an official apology, preferably on an industry-leading platform such as EN World, to the RPG community for the withholding of information they used to take advantage of buyers.

Whether they withheld information surely depends on when they made this decision.

At one point they seemed to honestly believe they could just swap out licenses and PF2 would be fine.

Then it may have occurred to them that, while the core mechanics are likely safe, things like specific spells, monsters, and alignments that come out of D&D lore would need to be changed. (PF2 already renamed a lot of monsters and spells, but not all of them.)

So, even if they had continued with the Core Rulebook + Bestiary approach, the next errata/reprinting would have been big enough to make some people think they needed to re-buy anyway. Might as well go all the way and make some class and ancestry rebalances they were planning on, and release the whole thing in a clearly new form.

 

[Lojaan]

Whether they withheld information surely depends on when they made this decision.

At one point they seemed to honestly believe they could just swap out licenses and PF2 would be fine.

Then it may have occurred to them that, while the core mechanics are likely safe, things like specific spells, monsters, and alignments that come out of D&D lore would need to be changed. (PF2 already renamed a lot of monsters and spells, but not all of them.)

So, even if they had continued with the Core Rulebook + Bestiary approach, the next errata/reprinting would have been big enough to make some people think they needed to re-buy anyway. Might as well go all the way and make some class and ancestry rebalances they were planning on, and release the whole thing in a clearly new form.

Yeah sounds fair. This is inconvenient for me, but I do think it is a very good idea. The core rule books could be made so much more accessible to new players with very small adjustments which would be a huge "quality of life" upgrade. Also I'm lookign forward to a Witch update as it is my favourite class and the current version makes me sad.

I really wish they would re-think their character creation process, but that may be a bridge too far. The whole ABC thing works just fine for people who already know the system, but trying to create a character in PF for the first time is very frustrating. All the hoops you have to jump through just to get your basic stats? When the game requires you to have a minimum 16 (18 is preferred) in your main stat anyway? It's one of those things that is a great idea but terrible in practice.

 

[Retreater]

Ok. You know what I honestly want to see with this? (No joking or faux outrage this time.)
I want a legitimate "beginner AP." Show new GMs how to run a campaign and teach players the ropes.
Time to stop being so gatekeeping with your adventures. Want to show you're welcoming to new gamers? Do that with your flagship product line.