Pathfinder 1E What can 5e Give us that Pathfinder doesn't

[scruffygrognard]

I'm hoping that 5th edition offers me a game the is leaner and less reliant on rules-mastery than 3.X.
Between stacking effects, tactical combat that requires a grid, the 15-minute adventuring day, DR rules, high-level NPC creation woes and assorted other nightmares related to high-level gameplay 3.X no longer holds any interest for me.
Pathfinder didn't do much to correct many of my issues with 3.X and 4th edition offered changes that weren't in keeping with what I considered to be the spirit of D&D (vancian magic, classes with varied complexity, iconic classes/races rooted in D&D's past, etc).

 

[PowerWordDumb]

Much like imaginary girlfriends (drow or otherwise - hello Wanger!), 5e doesn't actually exist yet... so speculating on its attributes and relative merits is somewhat of an exercise in speculative fantasy.

 

[drothgery]

Now the question is, what can 5e give me that Pathfinder doesnt already?

I really like 4e, but rather than talking mechanics here... the biggest thing that WotC can give you with 5e that no one else can is access to WotC's IP, so you can have an official, no tweaking necessary version of the Realms or Eberron or Dark Sun (or in theory Greyhawk or Dragonlance or ...).

 

[TerraDave]

Compared to PF...what 5E could be...

1) A game that is easier to DM.

2) Less demand on the players in terms of system mastery, but still lots of room for char building, for those that like that sort of thing.

3) Explicit links to the old school goodness in terms of IP.

4) Different art.

5) Less swingy combat.

Compared to 4E...what 5E could be...

1) A game that makes it clear that the DM is, well, the DM.

2) A game that has good, balanced enough, player choices, but is not bloated out with a bunch of repetitive...stuff...

3) (More) Explicit links to the old school goodness in terms of IP.

4) (More, many more) Decent adventures.

5) Faster combat.

 

[Mercurius]

What can 5E offer that Pathfinder doesn't? The same thing that it can offer that 4E doesn't--two things (at least): 1) more signal, less noise--that is, a simpler, core game with complexities as advanced options; 2) more flexibility in tone and styles of campaigns, whether we're talking power level (off-the-farm vs. superheroes) or flavor (old school D&D fantasy vs. WoWish fantasy).

 

[NewJeffCT]

Compared to PF...what 5E could be...

1) A game that is easier to DM.

2) Less demand on the players in terms of system mastery, but still lots of room for char building, for those that like that sort of thing.

3) Explicit links to the old school goodness in terms of IP.

4) Different art.

5) Less swingy combat.

Compared to 4E...what 5E could be...

1) A game that makes it clear that the DM is, well, the DM.

2) A game that has good, balanced enough, player choices, but is not bloated out with a bunch of repetitive...stuff...

3) (More) Explicit links to the old school goodness in terms of IP.

4) (More, many more) Decent adventures.

5) Faster combat.

Great list - I agree with you on it. If my XP were working right now, I'd XP you for this post.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

same here

 

[Dice4Hire]

Well, considering I think Pathfinder offered nothing new for me except a very nice world and some very nice APS, I am hoping this 5E offers simpler rules, more social interaction and background stuff on the character sheet and a better play experience.

We shall see. It will be interesting.

 

[Zaran]

Does Pathfinder give the pcs the ability to buy a mule?

You know what I think 5e can do to give us more than Pathfinder? A new OGL.

 

[SSquirrel]

My understanding is that Pathfinder is a slightly refined version of 3.5E. Unless you think that those refinements perfected D&D, there should be room for improvement. Even if you don't like 4E as a whole -- I don't, at all -- there could be plenty of elements that would improve your game.

Considering my opinion of Pathfinder is very low b/c it was clear to me in the alpha test that the game was going exactly how I didn't want, I think D&D can certainly be (and already has been) improved over PF. 4E is already there really. I just wish condition tracking wasn't so ridiculous and that the math would be fixed so we didn't need Expertise feats.

Not to start a war, just giving my opinion.