Pathfinder 1E Will Pathfinder be the fix?

[Obryn]

Every RPG I've ever played - and this includes different editions of D&D - is a different game, and I try to treat them as such.

I have yet to find any game which fills all my gaming needs perfectly. In fact, I don't think it can exist, because sometimes I want a lighter game, and sometimes I want a heavier one. This isn't even remotely a problem - it's why different RPGs exist, IMO.

When I want oldschool, I play 1e. When I want newschool, I play 4e. When I want horror, I play CoC d20. I don't think any single game could - or should - replace all these.

So, I don't know what Pathfinder would be the fix for, since I don't see a problem. It will be another good game, I'm sure!

-O

 

[Darrin Drader]

I've been scratching that itch with Pathfinder Beta and Castles and Crusades for a while now. I've also developed a newfound love for Arkham Horror and I've been scratching a lot of itch with that game lately.

 

[Stalker0]

I think Pathfinder will be the fix for some of the issues people had with 3e. Will it be a complete cure....no, its not radical enough a change to fix some of the bigger issues.

But if 3e is your cup of tea and your looking for the next improvement, I think it could definitely fill that niche.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Pathfinder will be a fantastic game, I suspect. Heard about that GM's Manual? Awesome stuff, if even half of it is true!

Other fantasy games that deserve mention, IMO: Reign and Pendragon. There is a little crossover there, but not much. The former has some interesting rules for companies as (more or less) entities that can be run directly, and also uses one of the neatest dice mechanics anywhere. The latter is a classic from way back, but still offers much to the modern gamer, such as the Traits and Passions subsystems, whereby personality traits and, well, passions of various kinds, have a game effect (as well as a roleplaying one, naturally), plus a lovingly detailed setting - which will be partly familiar to many, of course, and resonant for most - that provides plenty of good stuff that might even be used in other settings, so long as they're not hella far removed from those roots of history and myth.

You seem to be seeking, so I felt I kinda had to pimp a couple of noteworthy options. Anyway, hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[Sanzuo]

I'm going to ask a completely stupid question... but what is the deal with Pathfinder? As of yet my local place hasn't picked up a book for me to look through and to be honest I don't know if I have the will to check it out. The impression I got is that it's D&D 3rd edition for people who don't want to play 4e. (That seems to be the case for one guy I know.)

Is there a Pathfinder FAQ anywhere I can skim through? What makes this game so appealing to people? This is a serious question.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Is there a Pathfinder FAQ anywhere I can skim through?

There might be, but you could do worse than start here, anyway.

 

[Shades of Green]

I use BFRPG to scratch my itch. While it is inspired by older-school D&D, it also has some modern sensibilities (such as AC going up and a Base Attack Bonus instead of THAC0), and is very, very easy to prep and run. It is also free and it has a good community producing heaps of useful fan material for it.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

What game system are you using for this and how does it support your game? Sounds interesting!

Which game? We've played:

3.5 Eberron. Twice.
Completely without rules of any kind. (I started this one)
Mutants&Masterminds 2e.
Pathfinder Beta.
Star Wars Saga.

But I don't entirely understand what you mean by "use" and "support". Sure, we said we were using the systems to figure out what level of power character X was in relation to character Y, but in actual play we ignored that in favor of narrative power. And in cases like SWSaga we might have taken the example of the system that you couldn't bring in magic..........but that just meant we had to cloak anything odd in the language of the setting. The actual system is irrelevant once you figure out the framework you want to pull off.

It can be tricky sometimes. You have the usual issues of power-players compounded because there's nothing holding them back. Since everyone is going to end up playing everyone else's character at some point you have to trust each other not to screw over someone else's character, and you have to be willing to work with or around someone else's portrayal. It takes players willing to let and make their characters be idiots and failures.

But it's great for unusual concepts that the rules can't really handle, characters of different power levels who still manage to be equally useful, and characters who would otherwise die quickly.

 

[Barcode]

I've been scratching that itch with Pathfinder Beta and Castles and Crusades for a while now. I've also developed a newfound love for Arkham Horror and I've been scratching a lot of itch with that game lately.

You don't find it unsettling that you can kill a Great Old One with a Tommy Gun? That was a game that had great potential until my group of newbs beat it handily the first 10 times out of the gate.

<snicker> He said gate...

 

[Mark Plemmons]

So, we started up a campaign of Hack recently, which went parallel to our 4e campaign. It wasn't really close, Hack by a mile. Even though the combat was at times stifling, the party balance is completely out of whack, and my character's "combat effectiveness" is ridiculously bad (I'm a pirate)...we're having a blast.

A pirate, eh? You must be playing HM4th. Have you checked out the new HackMaster Basic edition yet?