Pathfinder OGL/3.5 RPG system from Paizo

[Zaukrie]

WotC's inability to get the GSL out is disturbing, no doubt. Frankly, I think they are delaying to force Paizo to do just this. Paizo was/is their biggest threat to the D&D dollar, now they've put themselves in a corner that will never get bigger, 3.5 fans.

 

[Jack of Shadows]

Oh... My... God... (and I'm an atheist),

Just like to say to the folks at Paizo, you all have balls the size of small moons. I don't think gaming has ever had a coup this big. I know I, and any many of the other folks on ENWorld, will be watching this with intense interest. I've already DL'd the Alpha edition and am quickly reading through it. Really like what I see so far.

JoS

 

[Bacris]

now they've put themselves in a corner that will never get bigger, 3.5 fans.

I'll disagree with this.

Nothing says they can't do 4E products later.

They had to make a decision, WotC left them no choice to either NOT make their products or use the 3.x ruleset. They chose to use a modified 3.x ruleset, because no new products equals a cash flow problem.

2009 when 4E is generally available, it's still anybody's game.

 

[Aus_Snow]

If I said Paizo to anyone in my group they would say "bless you". Outside of the hardcore D&D crowd who haunt messageboards, they have little name recognition.

Wow. That surprises me. The creators of so many Dungeon and Dragon magazines*, along with those Adventure Paths?



* which were found in small stores in small towns, among other places.

 

[Darrin Drader]

If I said Paizo to anyone in my group they would say "bless you". Outside of the hardcore D&D crowd who haunt messageboards, they have little name recognition.

I disagree. WotC putting Dragon and Dungeon magazines into their hands set them on the map very well. The move was initially unpopular and there was a noticeable difference in terms of art and layout. Both magazines appear to have not only succeeded but excelled under their stewardship and there was a great deal of people who were disappointed when the magazine left the newsstands to go online, once more under WotC. People who knew Dragon and Dungeon know Paizo. This is DMs and this is players. Paizo is not small and of all the D20 publishers, they are the one that sits best to challenge WotC in this manner.

Plus how many people said they don't want to upgrade from 3.5 or 3.0? Why would they want to buy yet more rulebooks for what is essentially a minor rules update?

They said themselves that upcoming Pathfinder products will be backward compatible. This means that you won't have to invest in a new set of rules to continue playing new Pathfinder adventures. When and if people want to buy new books, they'll be available and apparently in a format that will make the game even easier to play.

Its a good move, provided that enough people decide not to switch to 4E, or that the people who do switch are unhappy with it. Personally, I intend to play both sides of the fence.

 

[trancejeremy]

Wow, I don't know who's dumber in this situation- WotC for delaying the license for so long and pushing Paizo in this direction or Paizo for actually doing their own game. If I said Paizo to anyone in my group they would say "bless you". Outside of the hardcore D&D crowd who haunt messageboards, they have little name recognition. Plus how many people said they don't want to upgrade from 3.5 or 3.0? Why would they want to buy yet more rulebooks for what is essentially a minor rules update? I have all the 3.5 stuff I need to last me for several years if I wanted to continue playing 3.5. I certainly don't want to buy another set of core rulebooks for it. Maybe when my rulebooks wear out... in another 5-10 years. Plus they have to compete against all the other D&D clones out there, not just 4e. Good luck to them, they're going to need it.

I think you are missing the point of putting out a rulebook - it's essentially keeping 3.x D&D in print. Sure, once 4e comes out, 3.x rulebooks won't vanish, but they won't be sold anymore in stores, most likely (other than in the used section)

And believe it or not, there are some people who still actually like d20/3.x D&D. Those are who Paizo are catering to. That and people who already know Paizo and buy their products. I don't see how converting to 4e would make their name better known. WOTC is doing everything they can to push 3rd parties out of the picture for 4e.

 

[rom90125]

I am really geeked about this. With the Pathfinder RPG and C&C, I'm set for the future. Now, if Monte would get back into the business....

 

[kenobi65]

We haven't set a price for the Pathfinder Society Scenarios, but I anticipate them being incredibly low since they'll (a) only be available in PDF and (b) will be much smaller than a normal Pathfinder Module, for example. I'm thinking it'll be a small fee to cover our cost of hiring someone to write them.

As a longtime RPGAer, the Pathfinder Society interests me, as well.

Can you (or Nicolas) say how many scenarios you plan on releasing per year? IME, not getting enough scenarios out, on a regular basis, is one of the biggest problems that some of the OP campaigns (RPGA and otherwise) have faced.

 

[Gryffyn]

Now these guys know what makes gamers tick. Open playtest based on OGL rules than we can all play around with? Awesome. A first skimming of the Pathfinder playtest rules already has two of my main group very excited.

Their new grapple rules are so much easier and more like actual wrestling, it's almost stupid. I love it. Can't wait to read the whole thing.

 

[crazy_cat]

Very exciting news - good luck to Paizo.