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Pathfinder OGL/3.5 RPG system from Paizo
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<blockquote data-quote="Scurvy_Platypus" data-source="post: 4141058" data-attributes="member: 43283"><p>I'm planning on keeping an eye on the Pathfinder game.</p><p></p><p>The thing that strikes me as interesting is that at the end of the day, the Pathfinder project is simply going to be making at least one group of potential adopters unhappy. There really is no way to avoid it. But everyone seems to think that it's "obvious" what problems there are and how to "fix" them.</p><p></p><p>Like skills for example. Yup, everyone's going to be on the same page.</p><p></p><p>At the end of the day, here's the problem:</p><p>There is absolutely no way that any game can be tested by a group of people, and have it satisfy the needs/desires of _everyone_. WotC couldn't (and can't) do it regardless of how many playtesters it's had, and Pathfinder won't be able to do it despite the fact that it's probably going to be the first game ever to have such a large number of (potential) playtesters.</p><p></p><p>Keep in mind, that while WotC has "game designers" that are smart folks, and has had a bunch of people to play test their games when they develop them, the number of people that play the game is far and away beyond the number of people that play test(ed) it.</p><p></p><p>Which is my roundabout way of saying that 3.x/4E/Pathfinder basically amount to a group's house rules for a fantasy game that are published an distributed to a large number of people.</p><p></p><p>Pathfinder is interesting because finally, all the yelling and screaming internet cranks have a chance to actually influence and direct the revision of their game. Instead of second-guessing, "sunday quarterbacking", "backseat driving", and so forth, folks are being invited to step up to the plate and seriously discuss "problems" within the game and what those solutions are.</p><p></p><p>Of course, not everyone is going to be happy with the way things turn out but then again they're already unhappy with a set of changes that's being done to begin with (4E). Despite that though, there's going to be a portion of people that got most (if not all) of what they're looking for, and then they'l handwave/houserule the rest just like people have been doing for the past 20 years.</p><p></p><p>Hopefully those people that get what they want are actually playing the damn thing, instead of forum rats that haven't played a game for years and don't plan on it either. </p><p></p><p>I do hope that Pathfinder is going to stay the course and focus on fixing actual rule problems instead of playstyle preferences, but only time will tell on that.</p><p></p><p>Of course, for the cynical people out there that have a wider knowledge of game systems, there's always the possibility of Pathfinder becoming the modern-day version of Fudge. With more rules. Then again, Fudge did lead to the eventual creation Spirit of the Century, so in another 15 years or so Pathfinder could birth something pretty spiffy. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scurvy_Platypus, post: 4141058, member: 43283"] I'm planning on keeping an eye on the Pathfinder game. The thing that strikes me as interesting is that at the end of the day, the Pathfinder project is simply going to be making at least one group of potential adopters unhappy. There really is no way to avoid it. But everyone seems to think that it's "obvious" what problems there are and how to "fix" them. Like skills for example. Yup, everyone's going to be on the same page. At the end of the day, here's the problem: There is absolutely no way that any game can be tested by a group of people, and have it satisfy the needs/desires of _everyone_. WotC couldn't (and can't) do it regardless of how many playtesters it's had, and Pathfinder won't be able to do it despite the fact that it's probably going to be the first game ever to have such a large number of (potential) playtesters. Keep in mind, that while WotC has "game designers" that are smart folks, and has had a bunch of people to play test their games when they develop them, the number of people that play the game is far and away beyond the number of people that play test(ed) it. Which is my roundabout way of saying that 3.x/4E/Pathfinder basically amount to a group's house rules for a fantasy game that are published an distributed to a large number of people. Pathfinder is interesting because finally, all the yelling and screaming internet cranks have a chance to actually influence and direct the revision of their game. Instead of second-guessing, "sunday quarterbacking", "backseat driving", and so forth, folks are being invited to step up to the plate and seriously discuss "problems" within the game and what those solutions are. Of course, not everyone is going to be happy with the way things turn out but then again they're already unhappy with a set of changes that's being done to begin with (4E). Despite that though, there's going to be a portion of people that got most (if not all) of what they're looking for, and then they'l handwave/houserule the rest just like people have been doing for the past 20 years. Hopefully those people that get what they want are actually playing the damn thing, instead of forum rats that haven't played a game for years and don't plan on it either. I do hope that Pathfinder is going to stay the course and focus on fixing actual rule problems instead of playstyle preferences, but only time will tell on that. Of course, for the cynical people out there that have a wider knowledge of game systems, there's always the possibility of Pathfinder becoming the modern-day version of Fudge. With more rules. Then again, Fudge did lead to the eventual creation Spirit of the Century, so in another 15 years or so Pathfinder could birth something pretty spiffy. :D [/QUOTE]
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