Pathfinder 1E is a big Pathfinder surge on the way?

[BryonD]

Oh, and I DO agree that not very many 4E fans will switch.

But, I think SOME will because, as has been pointed out many times before, despite a lot of people who don't like one or the other, there are also plenty who like both. Out of that camp, some will migrate.

I think there will be an appearance of more boom than there is however because this announcement will have predictable effects on the sales of 4E.


The interesting thing will be that 5E open playtesting will start soon. That may do more to detract attention from PF than the end of 4E does to bolster it. And when the 5E books hit the shelves a very large portion of the market will have already long sense made of their minds on whether they will be on board or not. It will be an interesting dynamic that is kinda new.

 

[foolish_mortals]

I know some people have bailed. And where they went is Pathfinder. That probably is shading my view of where people will migrate to.

foolish_mortals

 

[VictorC]

you know, you guys might be right. Since 4th edition is really different to me and PaffFinder probably seems not dnd to 4thers, where the heck would they migrate to if they leave 4th?

foolish_mortals

Part of the problem you seem to have is that you think 4e players are left without the means to continue playing the game they choose. They don't have to migrate anywhere, because their books still work just fine. If they like the game, then that's all there is to it.

If you honestly think people choose Pathfinder because they feel slighted in some way, well... that's not saying much about Pathfinder. Or the people who play it.

I am not suggesting anything like that at all. I think people play Pathfinder because they legitimately like it and I'm pleased they have a game that works for them. Maybe you could try having a similar outlook on the situation.

But for the record, there are quite a few different fantasy games for 4e players to migrate to if they so choose.

 

[foolish_mortals]

I'm not sure why they chose PaffFinder. There are other games out there. Maybe it has something to do with staying with the Dnd family. I'd probably shop around too if the game I was playing was going to be canceled and there were similar games out there that were going to be well supported into the future.

foolish_mortals

 

[VictorC]

. I'd probably shop around too if the game I was playing was going to be canceled ...

foolish_mortals

Or you could continue playing the game you enjoy, despite the fact it will no longer be supported officially. I personally dust off the classic version of Deadlands from time to time.

Is there official support for it? No. But why would I let that stop me from enjoying a game I really like. I wouldn't, why? It's due to the fact I'm not childish enough to think that just because a game is no longer in publication I have to discard it like and find something else.

Which is also not to say I don't look for new games all the time. I've recently bought Atomic Highway, Airship Pirates, Burning Wheel Gold and The One Ring. And not one of those purchases were the result of 5e's announcement. I still play 3.x and that hasn't been in publication for years.

 

[Wormwood]

you know, you guys might be right. Since 4th edition is really different to me and PaffFinder probably seems not dnd to 4thers, where the heck would they migrate to if they leave 4th?

I have a dozen books and hundreds of MB worth of game materials/adventures in a game my group loves. Not to mention that adventures are ridiculously easy to compose in 4e.

Pray tell why I have any desire to migrate to Pathfinder should we not like 5e?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I see no reason for a surge of players right now. Sure some will go there, but the ones doing 3.5 will keep doing so, and the 4E ones might go elsewhere, but Pathfinder is a step back. If people liked 4E, Pathfinder is not the same game. Not at all.

Hmmm, in my estimation Pathfinder is a step forward, 4e is a step sideways - with both being relative to 3.5, not to each other.

I did not like the direction that 4e stepped in, I did like the direction that Pathfinder stepped in. Others preferred that path taken by 4e, but neither is a 'step back'.

If you want another way to look at it, Pathfinder was finding a similar path to what might have been 4e had WotC continued on the original course, 4e was blazing a trail into uncharted wilderness.

The Auld Grump, neither game became lost in maze of twisting passages, all alike. Neither has been eaten by a grue.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

are people thinking that Pathfinder's success is built around 4e defections? Is this true in people's experience?

I don't think it's accurate to label someone a "4e defector" when they never switched to 4e in the first place. I would argue that the vast majority of Pathfinder's success has come from people who wished to continue playing with the 3.X rules, but Paizo's also carved out their own market niche with conventions and organized play.

my god, do you think Paizo could do their own version of 4E and keep that community fed after WOTC completely moves on? I know it seems daft but it seems to have worked for PaffFinder.

Leaving the technical difficulties of making a retro-clone of a game with no OGL support, I can't imagine that the people at Paizo have any interest in doing this whatsoever. Pathfinder has been a tremendous commercial and critical success for them and their market is still growing; any new edition would be a mistake at this time, and attempting to support two competing game lines at the same time is a classic mistake that I would hope most serious publishers have already learned to avoid.

 

[foolish_mortals]

its a flumphy day...

instead of "4E defectors" it should say "3.X loyalists"?

foolish_mortals

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

In that case, yes, I would say that is their core customer base. Or at least, that it was; I think they've developed their own fan community to the point that even an official WotC re-release of 3.X D&D wouldn't put them out of business.