Paizo Publishing® Announces the Pathfinder RPG™
Pathfinder™ to continue under the 3.5 rules.
March 18, 2008 (BELLEVUE, Wash.) – Paizo Publishing today unveiled
the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, a tabletop fantasy roleplaying game
that will serve as the anchor for the company’s popular line of
Pathfinder adventures, sourcebooks, and campaigns. Today marks the
beginning of a year-long open playtest of the new rules, which are
based upon the popular 3.5 rules available under the Open Game
License. The Pathfinder RPG is designed with backward compatibility
as one of its primary goals, so players will continue to enjoy their
lifelong fantasy gaming hobby without invalidating their entire game
library. The first Pathfinder RPG Alpha release is available now as a
free 65-page PDF download at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG. Until the
finished Pathfinder RPGs release as a hardcover rulebook in August
2009, all of Paizo’s popular Pathfinder-brand products will continue
under the current 3.5 rules set.
"I’m really excited to work with the playtesters to make this the
best game possible," said Jason Bulmahn, Paizo’s Lead Designer. "In
the spirit of the Open Game movement, the Pathfinder RPG is really
your roleplaying game. It’s a huge thrill to get to lead the design
process."
Paizo will issue additional Pathfinder RPG Alpha releases in the
coming months, covering new changes and additions to the 3.5 rules.
Gamers can download, read, and participate in the free open playtest
by setting up a paizo.com account and joining the discussion with
Paizo’s design staff at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG. The Pathfinder RPG
will be backward-compatible with the 3.5 rules, and the staff has
kept this goal as a primary focus since design began in 2007.
This coming August, Paizo will release a massive, full-color,
softcover Pathfinder RPG Beta release for $24.99. This book will be
available on paizo.com, at Gen Con, as well as through hobby
distribution at local game stores. Just like the Alpha releases, the
Beta release will be available as a free PDF download on paizo.com.
As Wizards of the Coast’s core 3.5 rulebooks are expected to go out
of print with the release of 4th Edition, Paizo will use the
Pathfinder RPG as a replacement for the 3.5 core rules. The
Pathfinder RPG Beta release will represent Paizo’s first published
take on an updated 3.5 system, and playtesting will continue through
spring 2009, when Paizo will incorporate the open playtest feedback
and create a hardcover Pathfinder RPG for release in the hobby trade,
bookstores, and paizo.com in August 2009.
Paizo hopes to support 4th Edition with fan-created online
conversions of its Pathfinder products and a complete line from its
partner company, Necromancer Games, a trend-setter in the original
Open Gaming movement. Necromancer has already announced a new 4th
Edition version of their award-winning Tome of Horrors monster
encyclopedia, and has plans for additional player and GM support
products.
Today, Paizo also announced the hiring of Nicolas Logue to run the
Pathfinder Society organized play campaign, a massive mega-campaign
to launch at this year’s Gen Con. The Pathfinder Society will feature
events at major conventions, retail stores, and home play as a way to
involve thousands of players in a constantly evolving campaign
environment fueled by downloadable scenarios released by Paizo.
Nicolas Logue is a long-time Paizo contributor to the print versions
of Dragon and Dungeon as well as the Pathfinder Adventure Paths and
Pathfinder Modules line. He also co-runs an annual competition at Gen
Con called Iron DM that will continue to be co-run by Nicolas Logue
and his Iron DM compatriots. Nick begins working at Paizo in April.
"Nicolas Logue is one of the most energetic, personable gamers I have
ever met," said Erik Mona, Paizo’s Publisher and the co-founder
during his tenure at Wizards of the Coast of Living Greyhawk, the
largest organized play RPG campaign in history. "Running a successful
organized play campaign involves a magical combination of cool ideas,
organizational skills, and enthusiasm. Nick is absolutely the perfect
man for the job, and I’m thrilled that he will be joining us here at
Paizo."
Additional information on the Pathfinder Society campaign can be
found at paizo.com/pathfindersociety.
