Savage Pathfinder Pathfinder Adventure Paths Are Coming To Savage Worlds!

Pinnacle Entertainment Group has announced that it will be bringing Paizo's Pathfinder adventurer paths to Savage Worlds, starting with Rise of the Runelords. They will be launching a Kickstarter in January 2021.

The Kickstarter includes a core ruleset called Savage Pathfinder, and a Rise of the Runelords boxed set.

 PRESS RELEASE

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It’s Thanksgiving here in the United States. For our international friends, that’s a time when we come together as friends and family and tell everyone what we’re thankful for.

Today, Pinnacle Entertainment Group is INCREDIBLY thankful to our good friends at Paizo for letting us play in their amazing world of Golarion, setting of the phenomenally successful Pathfinder Roleplaying Game!

Following the incredible reception we had with Kevin Siembieda’s phenomenal world of Rifts®, we’re bringing Pathfinder’s fantastic Adventure Paths to the Savage Worlds™ system, starting with the best-selling Rise of the Runelords™!

The Kickstarter begins mid-January, 2021, and will feature the Savage Pathfinder core rules, a boxed set with all the usual Savage Worlds accessories, AND the Rise of the Runelords boxed set with all six books of the Adventure Path and other deluxe accessories!

 

[SimplySignifier]

I'm definitely intrigued! I love the lore of Pathfinder, so this might actually help me give Savage Worlds a try

 

[Retreater]

Just for info, the implementation of SWADE in Fantasy Grounds is amazing. If calculates raises, wounds, soaks, ammo consumption from high rate of fire and has specific statuses tacked on to the powers that deliver them (e.g. a specific ‘quicked’ status attached to the Slow / Speed power). It really lifts a chunk of the mechanical load off the GM and players.

I might look into that when my new computer arrives. I have been unable to run FG for nearly two years without access to a regular computer (I've been using a Chromebook).
Of course in this situation it would mean the PF subsystem would have to be put into FG, or we might have an even worse mess.

 

[dbm]

Savage RIFTS has made it to Fantasy Grounds, so there is a good chance IMO.

 

[Retreater]

Not necessarily. Releasing Paizo APs for 5e has two significant downsides:

It would also play into Paizo's strengths (world building and adventure design), bringing them to an audience of (I'm guessing) the most widely adopted TTRPG of all time. It would also allow them to avoid what I think is their Achilles Heel (rules design) - I've been critical of their balance issues since the 1e APG.
They have the marketing to promote it and are unlikely to be lost in 3pp anonymity. Dropping their most successful product line (PF1e), refusing to adapt to a changing landscape of gaming, while exclusively supporting a new system that is struggling to gain a foothold would be foolish or a demonstration of hubris.
I don't think the folks at Paizo are foolish or too proud to adapt. I think they'll resume making material for PF1 or begin conversions to 5e if PF2 doesn't pick up.

 

[Retreater]

Savage RIFTS has made it to Fantasy Grounds, so there is a good chance IMO.

Just the Tomorrow Legion Guide, right? (None of the monsters or other supplements.)

 

[Sir Brennen]

Even though I've played Savage Worlds, it definitely checks all the boxes for "I don't have the mental bandwidth." Around a year ago I ran a game for our old college friends' Gamer Weekend. I had to constantly look to other players. "How many wounds would that be, after subtracting the armor piercing from the toughness, dividing that total by four?" and "You're attacking a tank with a laser sword - which gets past all armor and toughness - so how many wounds does the tank have?" It was exhausting, even in person without the restraints of VTT, fiddling with connections in Zoom, etc.

I will admit SW is deceptively simple to a degree. IMO it's not on the level of PF with regards to crunchiness, but there are several rules you need to read the wording of exactly, and many of the "simple" moving parts interact in complicated ways. Just read through some of the official answers on the rules in their forums to get an idea.

And because I'm an older gamer playing multiple systems, and in some cases, have the rules of multiple editions of some of those in my head, I often have to double check I've got the right rule for this system and this edition.

I definitely think a key part of running SW (or any system, really) is just being prepared, especially for any parts of the game you're less familiar with. In your example, I'd definitely have the stat block of a tank somewhere handy, printed or bookmarked, if I knew there was going to be a tank this session. Not much different than looking up a monster with special abilities in a d20 game.

Creating a simple printed chart or using an online tool for calculating success and raises over a range of target numbers can also be handy, though I don't have much trouble with the calculations. Here's a simple and effective one: RaiseCalculator.xlsx (webcommando.com)

I'm currently running a sci-fi game in SW, and any session that will involve starship combat, I make sure to have the stats printed out. My core and setting books have a few post-it tabs for quick reference. Next session will start with a vehicle chase, so that's been re-read, bookmarked and for my VTT game, a quick ref doc of options during the chase for the players will be available.

 

[Reynard]

It would also play into Paizo's strengths (world building and adventure design), bringing them to an audience of (I'm guessing) the most widely adopted TTRPG of all time. It would also allow them to avoid what I think is their Achilles Heel (rules design) - I've been critical of their balance issues since the 1e APG.
They have the marketing to promote it and are unlikely to be lost in 3pp anonymity. Dropping their most successful product line (PF1e), refusing to adapt to a changing landscape of gaming, while exclusively supporting a new system that is struggling to gain a foothold would be foolish or a demonstration of hubris.
I don't think the folks at Paizo are foolish or too proud to adapt. I think they'll resume making material for PF1 or begin conversions to 5e if PF2 doesn't pick up.

If Paizo was going to move into supporting 5E, I imagine they would have done so rather than launch a new edition of Pathfinder. My guess is they do not want to find themselves once again hitched to the fortunes of WotC and D&D, which could change drastically at any time. Those rumors going around about Hasbro selling it ff? If that were true and some vampire firm bought it to extract its value and leave it crippled would kill D&D outright. Why would Paizo want to risk something like that, or another 4E?

 

[Retreater]

I definitely think a key part of running SW (or any system, really) is just being prepared, especially for any parts of the game you're less familiar with. In your example, I'd definitely have the stat block of a tank somewhere handy, printed or bookmarked, if I knew there was going to be a tank this session. Not much different than looking up a monster with special abilities in a d20 game.

The problem was that there wasn't stats for the tank. In the setting book, monster book, SWADE core, etc. There was no knowing how much damage it could take - and if you just ran it like a monster, this mechanized death bringer (like an AT-AT from Star Wars) would be dropped in a single round from a character with a sword.
But then you assume you roll on a chart, which might give you a random system to take out of the ship.
And you have 4 different kinds of vehicles, 6 different kinds of enemies, vastly different weapons and armor, etc. Damn, it was exhausting. About an hour a turn to play through.

 

[Retreater]

If Paizo was going to move into supporting 5E, I imagine they would have done so rather than launch a new edition of Pathfinder. My guess is they do not want to find themselves once again hitched to the fortunes of WotC and D&D, which could change drastically at any time. Those rumors going around about Hasbro selling it ff? If that were true and some vampire firm bought it to extract its value and leave it crippled would kill D&D outright. Why would Paizo want to risk something like that, o

It's a vastly different landscape now than when 4e was released. First off, just taking from the table the widescale adoption of 5e compared to 4e, look at the OGL for 5e. Sure it's a little more restrictive than the one for 3rd edition, but nowhere near what came out for 4e.
Paizo's entire product line was based around hitching to WotC's highly successful 3rd edition. Why they wouldn't want to do the same now is beyond me. And if Hasbro were to sell D&D and 5th edition would be ended - hell, that's the perfect storm for Paizo to have a rebirth as industry leaders. They would be the largest company still producing content for the most successful edition of D&D that had ever been released.
Hitching to Savage Worlds is more risky than that. Pinnacle is a mom and pop business compared to WotC. But making an AP conversion for Savage Worlds is a low risk. The same would be true for a 5e conversion. There is absolutely nothing in the OGL saying that Paizo cannot produce material for their house system (PF2), Savage Worlds (or any other system), AND 5e. (Frog God Games does this; Monte Cook Games does this; Troll Lord Games does this; Legendary Games does this.)
Paizo has the official numbers. I can only glean a little bit of data from what's reported online and my anecdotal experience, which indicates that PF2 is DOA. If it's not, that's great news for Paizo - but I would like to see more evidence in the form of increased 3PP support, better VTT integration, more PFS events (if it means the staff need to run the games to get them out there, then make your staff run the damn promo games). Right now PF2 seems very half-assed when it should be taking the gaming world by storm. If not, drop the thing and move on.
We're nearly a year and a half into the new system. If it continues to stay at 1.5% on Roll20 (compared to 4% for the decade-old PF1); if Society Games continue to focus on Starfinder; if major 3PP keep releasing only PF1 material, then it might be time to rethink what you're doing.

 

[Reynard]

But making an AP conversion for Savage Worlds is a low risk. The same would be true for a 5e conversion.

Only one of those things is going to be seen as abandonment by Paizo loyalists. Savage Worlds doesn't "compete" with D&D. Pathfinder does.