Pathfinder 2E Here's What's Coming For Pathfinder Over The Coming Year

At their (now online) convention this last weekend, Paizo revealed some information about upcoming Pathfinder 2E stuff!

Amongst other things, they announced The Abomination Vaults, their first 3-part adventure path, followed by Fists of the Ruby Phoenix (a worldwide test of martial arts and magic held every 10 years), also 3-parts.

Bestiary 2 released very recently; Bestiary 3 is now announced for March 2021! And the Lost Omens Ancestry Guide has a whole bunch of new character options for existing ancestries as well as new ancestries.

Wayne Reynolds' cover art of the Advanced Player's Guide

Contents of November's Beginner Box

 

[Steel_Wind]

Is this the same Steel wind that used to do the Pathfinder Chronicles Podcast for PF1 adventures?

Yes, that's me.

 

[Azgulor]

Yes, that's me.

Just wanted to say thanks to you and the Chronicles crew! Your podcast was amazing. At the time you folks were in full swing, I was just getting back into active RPG play by introducing my kids to Pathfinder. All of the content was great, but in particular your designer interviews and your adventure reviews - both of which were led by you - really allowed me to engage with the game in a way that I couldn't with kid newbies.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Just wanted to say thanks to you and the Chronicles crew! Your podcast was amazing. At the time you folks were in full swing, I was just getting back into active RPG play by introducing my kids to Pathfinder. All of the content was great, but in particular your designer interviews and your adventure reviews - both of which were led by you - really allowed me to engage with the game in a way that I couldn't with kid newbies.

Thanks for the kind words. I am glad that the cast brought you enjoyment and some enlightenment, I hope.

It's regrettable that we stopped doing them, but in the end my partner Az was no longer able to continue with them. (He handled the technical side of the podcast.)

On the plus side, I and another from the Chronicles team are involved in developing some cool new stuff for VTT and computer enhanced tabletop play. If you pay attention, you'll see more about this in the coming months. Don't worry - I'll crow publicly about it when it's time.

 

[Markh3rd]

I miss your reviews of adventures. I don't need all the fancy high production values..... I would just enjoy listening to your reviews again.

 

[TiwazTyrsfist]

So is the Lost Omens Ancestory Guide gonna be like the Advanced Race Guide from PF1?

 

[Campbell]

So is the Lost Omens Ancestory Guide gonna be like the Advanced Race Guide from PF1?

It looks like we'll be seeing the same treatment that the Core/Common Ancestries got in The Lost Omens Character Guide for the Uncommon ancestries and versatile heritages released so far. We should see a fairly in depth discussion of their cultures with heritages and ancestry feats to support it. They will also be releasing more new ancestries and versatile heritages including geniekin, androids, kitsune, and sprites.

It does not look like the Core/Common ancestries will be getting any support, but between the Lost Omens Character Guide and Advanced Player's Guide there is a ton of support already.

 

[Retreater]

It does not look like the Core/Common ancestries will be getting any support, but between the Lost Omens Character Guide and Advanced Player's Guide there is a ton of support already.

Indeed, it seems that there's been more player support in one year of PF2 than the entirety of 5e.

 

[Puggins]

Indeed, it seems that there's been more player support in one year of PF2 than the entirety of 5e.

That's sorta a case of apples to oranges, honestly. 5e is definitely a lean, mean RPG machine of a game that doesn't have you making major character decisions at every level. More options would certainly be welcomed by the community (look at the response to Xanathar's), but it doesn't seem like there are major holes left to be filled.

PF2, on the other hand, is directly modeled after PF1e, which sets entirely different expectations. I own every pf2 book so far, I have subscriptions to both the rule book and lost omens line, and I'm of the opinion that we're barely past the start of pf2 support. The core rule book introduced all sorts of neat concepts (non-ancestry-centered heritages, archetypes, variable action spells) that are only now starting to bear fruit with the APG, and there are still a TON of really popular classes from PF1 that are awaiting release.

I don't want this to read like bashing PF2- I'm enjoying the game immensely after a really tepid start- I'm just saying that the "body" of PF2 has so many niches to fill that it demands a lot more support than 5e does.

 

[Campbell]

If I am playing Fifth Edition and let's say I play a Mountain Dwarf Ancestral Guardian Barbarian as far as character design decisions I am pretty much done, particularly if our game is not using feats. More books with more races, classes, or subclasses are not going to be useful to me. There just is not very much modular design in Fifth Edition. This is no slight by the way.

In Fifth Edition you buy the whole cow. You get one big mechanical package for a thematic element.
In Pathfinder 2 you select your cuts.

In Fifth Edition I might say Ragna is a Mountain Dwarf. That implies all sorts of things.
In Pathfinder Second Edition I might say Ragna is a Dwarf with the Ancient Blooded Dwarf Heritage and the Vengeful Hatred (Orc) feat. Further Ancestry feats will also define his Dwarf nature.

Pathfinder Second Edition is an extremely modular game (in rules and character design). Almost everything your character can do is the result of an individual choice you have made as a player. That modular design really lets you fine tune the details of your character, but is not nearly as space efficient as the less modular design in Fifth Edition.

That being said Paizo definitely does utilize much more of a deep dive approach. A lot of what has made Paizo successful historically has been what I would call Reverse Gnome Effect. At a time when Wizards was paring down on niche material Paizo doubled down on it. They have always shown a willingness to create material that might be used in like 1-5% of games if those people will absolutely love it. That kind of stuff is written all over The Lost Omens Line. They have cultivated a community based on building deep investment in their game. That person playing a Hobgoblin Cleric from Oprak who becomes a Hellknight Armiger and joins the Order of the Godclaw with mechanics behind all of that is with Paizo for life or at least that's the bet.

Michael Sayre, Organized Play Developer for Paizo has mentioned (on reddit in regards to the Humble Bundle) that the Core Rulebook is a loss leader for Paizo. Their business model could not be any further apart from Wizards of the Coast.

I'll try to find that link in the next few days.

 

[Celtavian]

That's sorta a case of apples to oranges, honestly. 5e is definitely a lean, mean RPG machine of a game that doesn't have you making major character decisions at every level. More options would certainly be welcomed by the community (look at the response to Xanathar's), but it doesn't seem like there are major holes left to be filled.

PF2, on the other hand, is directly modeled after PF1e, which sets entirely different expectations. I own every pf2 book so far, I have subscriptions to both the rule book and lost omens line, and I'm of the opinion that we're barely past the start of pf2 support. The core rule book introduced all sorts of neat concepts (non-ancestry-centered heritages, archetypes, variable action spells) that are only now starting to bear fruit with the APG, and there are still a TON of really popular classes from PF1 that are awaiting release.

I don't want this to read like bashing PF2- I'm enjoying the game immensely after a really tepid start- I'm just saying that the "body" of PF2 has so many niches to fill that it demands a lot more support than 5e does.

PF2 was built to be more customizable and require more system mastery much like the D20 system. It's for players looking for a deeper mechanical interface and more tactical options even if story is less of a focus.

5E was built for people that really want to focus on story over mechanics. The mechanics are super simple, but effective and easy to run. You don't have to think about the mechanics too much.

Hopefully they both find a profitable niche because I am really liking PF2. I want it to last and grow. I like that I can look forward to lvl 20 characters I get to play running an AP. I want that to stay around.