Pathfinder 1E I’ve Forgotten How to Play Pathfinder

[TheSword]

So I decided this weekend to give the Kingmaker CRPG another go. I had previously finished the game but that was before the dungeon add on was a thing. I’d love to have a group strong enough to tackle that. I reckon I had pretty good system mastery. I must have put hundreds of hours into that game when I last played it. Not to mention that it follows the PF1 ruleset for characters pretty faithfully and we played Pathfinder One TTRPG once or twice a month for entire weekends for the best part of eight years. Plus a lot of time on 3e.

Yet when I loaded up the game I realized after eight years of playing 5e I don’t remember Pathfinder 1 at all. It has been wiped from my mind. I don’t remember the feat prerequisites. I don’t remember which spells are good. I don’t remember the racial abilities. I don’t remember what a Paladin can do let alone at which levels. What the hell is a Power Attack and whybI recall this game being tough. The DCs were pretty punishing. It required system mastery to get though. The question is do I want that back?

I was was expecting picking up Pathfinder again to be like riding a bicycle. Instead I feel like a new player. Anyone else that switched from PF1 found it erased from their mind, or am I likely to have early onset Alzheimer’s?

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I can relate to this a lot. I turn 55 next month, and I’ve noticed the same thing happening to me. I own both Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous, and I’ve sunk over a hundred hours into each—but I’ve never even made it halfway through either game. Same with Baldur’s Gate 3: multiple playthroughs started, never past Act 1. It isn’t that I don’t enjoy them—it’s that I just get too mentally tired keeping track of all the systems, choices, and branching possibilities.

These days I mostly stick to XCOM. It scratches the tactical itch without overwhelming me with endless character options, sprawling plots, or hidden interactions.

That shift has carried over into tabletop as well. After decades of bouncing through D&D editions (and other systems), I’ve reached the point where I can’t keep the rules straight anymore. Even “new but similar” systems feel like too much work. Learning them just isn’t fun; it’s exhausting. Eventually I stopped running games altogether, which pretty much meant I stepped back from the hobby. I don’t chase new systems or settings anymore.

So no—you’re not alone in finding the old mastery has slipped away. For me, it isn’t about memory loss so much as bandwidth. Some games demand more than I’m willing (or able) to give these days, and I’ve had to be honest about that.

 

[Alzrius]

I've recently been working with some people in various projects to translate materials from other game systems over to PF1, and I've been surprised by how many individuals have (indirectly, mostly via mistakes in the converted materials) seem to be in the same boat as you.

As someone who never stopped with PF1, it all makes perfect sense to me, but I can understand it not seeming that way if it's been a long time since you've played.

 

[Spectral Anomaly]

I started playing Wrath of the Righteous a couple months ago. Made it to the start of Act 3, but I've completely burned out on exactly what you describe. Way too much research involved in picking feats and leveling up. Is this weapon going to help me or hinder me? Sorting out the various spellbooks is a massive chore. And then there are the 4 or 5 minigames that Owlcat added on top of all that. It's a lifestyle game, and that's not what I want or need in my life anymore.

 

[Retreater]

To be fair, I forgot the rules of Pathfinder 1 while I was at the table playing it.

 

[GMMichael]

Wasn't it just D&D 3 with a Combat Maneuver Bonus?

 

[Reynard]

Wasn't it just D&D 3 with a Combat Maneuver Bonus?

No. Everything was redesigned and it had far, far more new bits on top than what 3.5 ever had.

 

[GMMichael]

No. Everything was redesigned and it had far, far more new bits on top than what 3.5 ever had.

Ah. And it had WAR, who's awesome.

 

[sevenbastard]

I feel you. I have played Pathfinder a few time, but the idea of learning it feels like work.

 

[payn]

I feel like knowing how to play PF1 at this point is second nature it will be one of the last things to go before I die.