Pathfinder 1E Stop thinking of Pathfinder as magazine issues

[Olaf the Stout]

I agree. Which is why I put "since I like the pdf" in there. If you don't like it, it doesn't improve the value of the deal for you. I like it, so its a "value added" for me.

I like having PDF versions of books that I own. The search and cut and paste features make things easier to run. However I still don't think the PDF is worth $13.99 if you already own the print version.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Tetsubo]

I can think of Pathfinder as a "book" if you like. A book that holds no interest for me and that I will not be purchasing... but I do have a subscription to Dragon... until August at least...

 

[DonTadow]

I keep hearing people complaining about how expensive Pathfinder is, "who is going to pay $20 bucks for a magazine?", guys, it's not a magazine it's an adventure book, much like: Red Hand of Doom (128 pages / $24.95), or Shattered Gates of Slaughterdale (160 pages / $19.95), Night of Disolution (96 pages / $19.99), Crypt of the Devil Lich (96 pages / $24.95), The Scaly God (80 pages at $18.99). The prices are in the same ballpark as other publishers, and people don't complain about them.

Why is Pathfinder an even better value than those mentioned above? well, if you buy it, it means you're probably interested in whole adventure path, and if that is the case, you should be able to recognize that subscribing is even a better idea, not only you would get the products at a discounted rate ($13.99) but you also get them in PDF format, AFAIK, no other publisher does this, except RPGOBjects, everyone else tries to milk you twice.

I think Goodman Games does offer a subcription service, but no discounts, the subscription is basically to ensure you get stuff as it is released.

Now compared, to Dungeon magazine, it is obviously more expensive, but Dungeon magazine has always been a bargain, nobody compares prices between Dungeon Magazine and say Dungeon Crawl Classics.

Wow you get them in a PDF format, now you've peaked my interest. consider that goodman game's dungeon adventures cost 16 bucks a pop and are half the size of pathfinder.

 

[delericho]

You know, I never actually paid money for 'a magazine' - I paid money for the content of the magazine. Similarly, I'm paying for the content of Pathfinder, not for 'a magazine' or 'a book'. That much (quality) content at that price is a reasonable deal to me, so I pay. If not, I wouldn't. Arguments over books vs magazines are largely irrelevant to me.

Plus Erik even said (inferred?)...

Implied. Speakers and writers imply, hearers and readers infer.

I'm not usually pedantic like that (at least, not on here), but I inferred from the question mark that you weren't sure that was the right word.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

I've got to say Pathfinder is out of the realm of money I am willing to pay.

I subscribed to dragon and dungeon years ago, didn't sub for ten years and started my Dungeon sub at the beginning of the STAP.

So I am looking at Pathfinder (gonna get one free for my last two Dungeon issued) but I cannot imagizne me subscribing to it.

An adventure path is great, but it would take my group two years to play though one, so that is 1/4 of the benefit. I don't like Dragon, and have not for ages. Fluff is an interesting read (but a novel is far better) and the new classes and such are a total waste for me, as my group uses hardback sources not 3rd party stuff (whether or not you agree with my classification of Dragon as 3rd party is not the point here.) And I am not interested in pdfs.

I am also a bit worried about Paizo's announcement that some of the articles will be based on the adventure path itself, about situations, monsters and such in the adventure also being in the Dragonesque part of the Pathfinder. That sounds like me to fluffing the page count.

I'll look at my free copy carefully, and I might change my mind, but I doubt it. 20.00 per month for a magazine (call it a book if it makes you feel better) is too much

Just too much

 

[The Lost Muse]

I'm interested, but I have trouble sticking to pre-written adventures. Even ones I really like, and have run a bunch of times, stringing them together can sometimes stifle creativity and feel boring for me. So to hypothetically dump down ~$25 canadian/month would really have to depend on the content.

 

[Krolik]

I don't find Pathfinder to be a bad deal. If you subscribe you get a 96 page book and a pdf for $18.00. The book will be full color and have a 40-50 page adventure and 40-50 pages of campaign/world information in it. A 96 page full color pdf would probably go for $10.00-$12.00 by itself.

If you can only afford to spend $20.00 a month on gaming then Pathfinder's probably not for you. I buy 4-5 books a month and that's probably the best deal of them all. If I don't like the books I can quite at any time and re-sub at any time. So if the first AP isn't to my liking I can just cancel and re-sub when the second or third starts. Or I can just buy the book at my FLGS or FOGS and do without the pdf.

 

[Mercule]

If I'm interested in an AP, I think Pathfinder is a fair value.

Since I'm still in the second "module" of Age of Worms, my Dungeon subscription will run long enough to complete Savage Tides, I've got Rappan Athuk Reloaded, and I've got Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, I'm not sure I need an AP right now.

For the most part, I prefer running a homebrew game, and using modules to flesh things out. Dungeon was an extremely good product for that because the adventures were (usually) intentionally generic, easily scalable (with sidebar, even), and modular.

Odds are that the Digital Initiative will fill my particular needs better. Time will tell, though. The quality (or cost) may not be as good or as easy to use. Or, my needs may change. I'll be getting the first Pathfinder as a conversion of my Dungeon subscription, though. If the adventure piece looks "plug-n-play" enough and the Dragonesque content looks good enough, I may go with Pathfinder.

 

[Wik]

I admit it's a bit pricey, but I put my money down anyways.

While I don't understand how there's legal issues with wotc ("We are taking back our license... oh, and you can't make magazines anymore!"), I wonder how long those issues will remain? I have a sneaky feeling that, in a few months time, Pathfinder will start showing ads... and comics... and all that jazz. Or another Paizo product will.

Even if that doesn't happen, I've been finding that I'm using DUNGEON more than any other gaming product I have. I just bought Bo9S... haven't used it once. Fiendish Codex - used one monster, in the AP (so, really, haven't used it).

Beyond just using the AP, I've been re-working encounters from other adventures to throw in the AP, as well as using the campaign workbook almost religiously.

So, I think, for twenty bucks a pop (USD!), PATHFINDER is worth it. Of course, we'll find out in a few months, eh?

 

[Breakdaddy]

Wow you get them in a PDF format, now you've peaked my interest. consider that goodman game's dungeon adventures cost 16 bucks a pop and are half the size of pathfinder.

My interest was piqued from the get-go, but pricing can be a barrier for some potential customers, so this subscription book may be a hard-sell for some. I, for one, will wait and see.