Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Azgulor" data-source="post: 5298905" data-attributes="member: 14291">If you look solely at game mechanics compatability, I'd side with you.  In fact, I think it's probably more than a year.  However, I think the need or desire to import 3.5 material diminishes with each PF RPG & PF-compatible release.However, I agree with your friend that as a RPG, the release of the APG lets Pathfinder stand on its own.  I would have almost been ready to make the claim with the Game Mastery Guide but the APG pushed it over the top for certain.I say this for several reasons:  1. The APG showcased the strength & flexibility of the game.  By showcasing in a single volume the sheer # of ways variant mechanics could be applied to characters, the PFRPG had moved far beyond the "well done house-ruled 3.5" that some detractors labeled it.2. It was the anti-WotC splat.  The APG, while having many of the splat elements (classes, feats, spells), diverged from the conventional wisdom of tightly-themed splatbook.  The content within the APG would have been doled out over several books under WotC or would have been limited in scope if produced by a 3PP.  We'll see how Ultimate Magic & Ultimate Combat turn out, but in my view, the PFRPG supplement hardbacks have much more in common with the depth & focus of GURPS supplements than they do with the 3.5 WotC splats.3. It validated the "limit the # of core classes" concept.  The archetype concept and the sheer number of them per class showed that new classes weren't always required to support a new concept.  (That said, I still like new classes that are done well -- Genius Guides & Fist Full of Denari I'm looking at you.  Keep 'em coming!)4. It blended the familiar with the new.  The Cavalier is one of the best "knight" classes I've ever seen & the application of the Cavaliers orders followed the customization theme of the book.  The Oracle & Witch, while familiar concepts in fiction & myth, rarely fit neatly into the Wizard, Sorceror, & Cleric classes.  The Alchemist, IMO, gets the award for "Class I never saw coming" but it's interesting, flexible, and an easy concept for a player to latch on to.  These classes showcased Paizo's RPG-writing chops & illustrated how the PFRPG is standing apart from it's D&D predecessor.Between the options presented within the APG, the new subsystems of the GMG (haunts, chases, gambling, community rules), and the expansion rules contained in the APs (exploration & settlement, kingdom-building, fiendish possession, etc.) the scope of the PFRPG is exploding, yet it is doing so without crushing the game with rules bloat.  Many of these new subsystems are elegantly designed, easy to grasp, are easy to integrate, yet are entirely optional.Thats my 2 cents, anyway.</blockquote>

Verification