Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder RPG Beta Release is available!

[Beastman]

after seeing the pre-release of the Pathfinder Bestiary as a separate book.

Hiho. What pre-release are you speaking off. Is there a preview? Haven't seen one. Please point me in the right direction if there is a download or something. Thanks.

 

[smug]

Hiho. What pre-release are you speaking off. Is there a preview? Haven't seen one. Please point me in the right direction if there is a download or something. Thanks.

I guess he's just talking about the pre-release images. There won't be a pre-release anything else out yet as they haven't really started work on it, so far as I'm aware.

 

[-Archangel-]

I'm pretty happy with most of the changes put through in Pathfinder (an opinion I've found pretty common at my main forum hangout, Dicefreaks), but I'm really irked by their completely ignoring epic so far.

I think that is a good move. First let them bring out improved pre-Epic rules, and then they (and we on their boards) can spend another year coming out with better Epic rules. If they spent time doing Epic rules now, you would probably get something as bad as WotC version.

 

[Shazman]

I happened to hear on a new podcast (the name escapes me at the moment) an interview with Jason Bulmahn in which he said that the Pathfinder book, and yes it is singular, will be in the 600 page range. And from the pdfs they have out, I'm guessing this rulebook will be a combination of the PHB and DMG. I also came to this conclusion after seeing the pre-release of the Pathfinder Bestiary as a separate book.

I am in two Pathfinder games and running one of my own. I like the changes made. The consolidation of skills, class options, and spell changes all make sense while remaining compatible to 3.X rules. My game, which started recently at 1st level, will be strictly Pathfinder until 6th level. Then I will allow 3.X material if any of the players want to use any of it.

In my opinion, I think this (Pathfinder) is what 4E should have been.

I totally agree with you. 4E is a completely different game. They may have the legal right to put Dungeons and Dragons on the cover of 4E books, but that doesn't mean that it truly is D&D. It definitely isn't to me.

 

[Max Money AWA]

Oops, I mis-typed. There is no pre-release of the book. They are taking pre-orders for the Bestiary which is scheduled for a July release. You can check it out here.

 

[Festivus]

In my opinion, I think this (Pathfinder) is what 4E should have been.

I too like Pathfinder and plan to run a campaign using it when it's released. But your opinion that it is what 4E should have been is one I do not share. When I look back at previous major edition revisions, the core system is dramatically changed from edition to edition (the exception being perhaps 2E which I am not overwhelmingly familiar with). You can't take a 1e module and run a 3.5 game through it without a great deal of work. That holds true for any 3.5 module and the 4E ruleset.

I think Pathfinder is a great next logical step for those who like 3.5 but dislike 3.5's shortcomings. In my opinion, it's more like 3.5 on steriods (or 3.75). With Pathfinder, you can take your 3.5 modules and run with minimal modification.

I also think that 4E is a terrific fantasy roleplaying system that I enjoy very much playing and running as a DM, but it's not the same game as 3.5 at all.

In short, I like both systems and I run & play both systems.