Pathfinder OGL/3.5 RPG system from Paizo

[Knightfall]

To the people at Paizo: you are my heroes!

This totally makes my day. I'm not eager to switch to 4th Edition, and I'm very disappointed with the direction the game is taking. The fluff makes me very unhappy, and the rules seem to cater to a style of gaming I'm not interested in.

The Pathfinder RPG sounds like my type of game, and who knows, I might even convert World of Kulan to be a Pathfinder world.

Cheers!

KF72

 

[Aris Dragonborn]

Next things I'd love to see on the chopping block: 2 skill points per level and cross-class skills. Honestly, they're just fiddly and don't increase the fun.
-blarg

I'm with you there.

From a quick look-see, it seems that they have done away with skill points entirely; it's now closer to SAGA, with each class getting a set number of skills at 1st level. For example:

Fighter: 2 + Intelligence Modifier = number of skills at first level.

At every even-numbered level after that, you gain 1 additional skill choice.

The mechanic for skill checks looks like this:

Untrained Skill: 1d20 + ability modifier + racial modifier
Trained Skill: 1d20 + character level + 3 + ability modifier + racial modifier
Trained Cross-Class Skill: 1d20 + 1/2(character level +3) + ability modifier + racial modifier

So, cross-class skills are still in there, but I love this mechanic. If I feel the need to add skills to NPC's/henchmen/villains, this will make it easier for me to stat them up, rather than obsessing over skill points and ranks.

 

[greywulf]

Wow. That's great news! Count me in, Paizo.

It looks like my Dungeonmaster's Creed is going to become reality.

Me? Happy? Oh heck yes!

 

[Pinotage]

Yes! Yes! And Yes! Fantastic news. Paizo rocks! I was hoping that somebody would do something like this, and hoping that Paizo would stick with 3.5e, and it looks like I'm getting the best of both worlds! Wooot!

The Alpha release looks great, it uses the OGL, it has a playtest base of thousands - this is hands down going to be great!

Thanks Paizo!

Pinotage

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I'm with you there.

From a quick look-see, it seems that they have done away with skill points entirely; it's now closer to SAGA, with each class getting a set number of skills at 1st level. For example:



At every even-numbered level after that, you gain 1 additional skill choice.

The mechanic for skill checks looks like this:



So, cross-class skills are still in there, but I love this mechanic. If I feel the need to add skills to NPC's/henchmen/villains, this will make it easier for me to stat them up, rather than obsessing over skill points and ranks.

How will it avoid Rogue-Dipping for anyone but Spellcasters?

 

[Flynn]

The last two pages of the playtest document indicate that another Alpha release is coming, to cover more material, and a 3rd one will follow that:

Upcoming Releases
In the coming weeks, we will post Alpha release 2 of
the Pathfinder RPG. Here’s a small taste of what you can
expect to see:
4 PC Classes: Barbarian, Druid, Paladin, and Sorcerer
(Bard, Monk, and Ranger will be in Release 3). You can
expect revised rules for barbarian rage and druid wild
shape, alternate rules for a paladin’s mount, and a host
of bloodlines for sorcerers.
Dozens of Spells: From confusion to polymorph to web,
a wide variety of spells will receive updates.
Curses, Diseases, and Poisons: All part of one unified,
simple-to-use system. Now these threats will pose
a challenge to characters of any level.
Nonplayer Characters: Simple rules for
designing NPCs on the fly. This section will
also include simple short-cuts for assigning
magic items and adjudicating wealth totals.
Magic Items: Initial rules and revisions
designed to add variety to a player’s choice of gear.
Monsters: A complete guide to creating and
converting monsters for the Pathfinder RPG.

I think this will be interesting, but truth be told, while I might pick Pathfinder up should I end up in a Pathfinder game, I won't be running it unless they make it easier for me to GM. Right now, creating higher level NPCs and monsters is simply painful. Also, it looks like combat is going to be just as long and nasty as it has always been (for backwards compatibility). Having run 400+ sessions of D20 over the last seven and a half years, I'm looking for something easier to run, for me as the GM. I'll keep looking at Pathfinder, but right now, I don't see me investing deeply into the system, aside from a core rulebook at some point.

Still, I think it's a brilliant and logical move on the part of Paizo, and I'm interested enough from a designer perspective to watch the evolution of Pathfinder over the duration of the playtest. I think the process and the result will be very telling, and indicative of how future playtesting may be handled by other companies. As Mongoose has been open playtesting Traveller OGL for the last five months or so, it seems that Paizo's recent announcement is establishing this process as a trend in the current gaming market. I hope that trend grows.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[DragonLancer]

Sounds interesting. I'll have a proper read through later, but this may well be something I could be interested in picking up.

 

[Quartz]

I do like what I see, but I'll be investigating 4E first.

 

[amethal]

Unbelievable.

I am incredibly excited about this.

Once I get paid for this month I'll be taking out a Pathfinder Chronicles subscription to go with my Pathfinder one.

 

[Klaus]

Well, they can't call them that. Maybe... Finder Magazine and Path Magazine.

It'd be really cool if they reached out to 3rd party pubs.

Well, seeing that a golem is the symbol of Paizo, I'd call the magazines "The Golem" and "The Delve", or something to that effect.