Mercurius
Legend
By way of disclaimer, let me start by saying that I've never played Pathfinder; I haven't played 3.x in almost fifteen years. I generally prefer the "rules medium" feel of 5E to the heaviness of 3.x/Pathfinder.
But this isn't about that - about stylistic preferences. As I wrote in another thread, I've been wondering how Paizo sees the way forward - what the intentions are behind a 2E, especially when the first edition of Pathfinder was a "let's keep 3.x alive" feel, and P2 seems a bit of a divergence.
I browsed through the book for a few minutes yesterday, have read and listened to a few reviews, but haven't dived into the book or system in any great depth. But one thing I've noticed is not just the level of detail relative to 5E, but how many little touches that add not only detail and granularity, but flavor.
So why "boutique?" Ever been to one of those gelato shops that sells flavors tike Laverndaer Bliss or Burnt Caramel Bourbon? I don't see Pathfinder 2 being that high-brow in intention, but I do wonder if that is the RPG-equivalent niche Paizo is going for.
They must realize that P2 is coming out in a very different context than P1 was: mainly that the current version of D&D is widely lauded and more popular than ever. Where P1 was intended to served those unhappy with 4E D&D and/or continue 3.x, even to the point of viable competition with the top dog, I highly doubt that Paizo is trying to go mano a mano with Wizards of the Coast.
But what if the intention is more of a boutique, high-brow alternative?
Now understand that while I get into high-brow things--whether it is beer, food, music, artsy films, etc--inn reality I'm rather omnivorous: I don't like total trash, but I do love a good rom-com, a good cheeseburger, but I also love art films, maple-glazed bison burgers, etc. I tend to lean more towards the high-brow, but I also like the accessibility and ease-of-play of a simpler game than what P2 seems to be, in a similar sense that sometimes I prefer Nora Ephron to Shane Carruth, even though I enjoy the films of both.
What brought me to this question was listening and reading reviews and hearing about any number of design detail that I couldn't help but think, "That's a good idea - wish that was in 5E."
Again, I love 5E - in my mind they really hit the sweet spot. And I don't foresee myself playing P2 (though I am consider buying it for reading enjoyment). But I am just wondering if this is what Paizo had in mind. In a sense they're taking the natural step forward from P1, which was "Hey wait a minute, we still love 3.x!" Now they're saying, or seemingly saying, "OK, we did that for a decade but we want to improve upon it. Here's the game that we, the designers at Paizo, want to play."
So if 5E was designed to both bring back the player base and create an evergreen version of the game that can draw in new fans, while embodying the classic feel of the game--all design goals that they hit out of the ballpark--could it be that Pathfinder 2 was designed to create a boutique D&D play experience?
As a side note, one thing that makes me question this hypothesis is the art. I am lukewarm on Shane Reynolds, enjoying a lot of his work until it veers a bit too far into the anime-esque, but I found a lot of the art to be a bit...cartoonish. But I almost didn't mention this as I barely skimmed through the book.
But this isn't about that - about stylistic preferences. As I wrote in another thread, I've been wondering how Paizo sees the way forward - what the intentions are behind a 2E, especially when the first edition of Pathfinder was a "let's keep 3.x alive" feel, and P2 seems a bit of a divergence.
I browsed through the book for a few minutes yesterday, have read and listened to a few reviews, but haven't dived into the book or system in any great depth. But one thing I've noticed is not just the level of detail relative to 5E, but how many little touches that add not only detail and granularity, but flavor.
So why "boutique?" Ever been to one of those gelato shops that sells flavors tike Laverndaer Bliss or Burnt Caramel Bourbon? I don't see Pathfinder 2 being that high-brow in intention, but I do wonder if that is the RPG-equivalent niche Paizo is going for.
They must realize that P2 is coming out in a very different context than P1 was: mainly that the current version of D&D is widely lauded and more popular than ever. Where P1 was intended to served those unhappy with 4E D&D and/or continue 3.x, even to the point of viable competition with the top dog, I highly doubt that Paizo is trying to go mano a mano with Wizards of the Coast.
But what if the intention is more of a boutique, high-brow alternative?
Now understand that while I get into high-brow things--whether it is beer, food, music, artsy films, etc--inn reality I'm rather omnivorous: I don't like total trash, but I do love a good rom-com, a good cheeseburger, but I also love art films, maple-glazed bison burgers, etc. I tend to lean more towards the high-brow, but I also like the accessibility and ease-of-play of a simpler game than what P2 seems to be, in a similar sense that sometimes I prefer Nora Ephron to Shane Carruth, even though I enjoy the films of both.
What brought me to this question was listening and reading reviews and hearing about any number of design detail that I couldn't help but think, "That's a good idea - wish that was in 5E."
Again, I love 5E - in my mind they really hit the sweet spot. And I don't foresee myself playing P2 (though I am consider buying it for reading enjoyment). But I am just wondering if this is what Paizo had in mind. In a sense they're taking the natural step forward from P1, which was "Hey wait a minute, we still love 3.x!" Now they're saying, or seemingly saying, "OK, we did that for a decade but we want to improve upon it. Here's the game that we, the designers at Paizo, want to play."
So if 5E was designed to both bring back the player base and create an evergreen version of the game that can draw in new fans, while embodying the classic feel of the game--all design goals that they hit out of the ballpark--could it be that Pathfinder 2 was designed to create a boutique D&D play experience?
As a side note, one thing that makes me question this hypothesis is the art. I am lukewarm on Shane Reynolds, enjoying a lot of his work until it veers a bit too far into the anime-esque, but I found a lot of the art to be a bit...cartoonish. But I almost didn't mention this as I barely skimmed through the book.
