I have just finished reading the core rulebook for Pathfinder RPG and I must say I was a good read. I built the the foundation of how Pathfinder is played based on the rules from the Beginner Box. I bought the core rulebook in order to see what else I can do in Pathfinder as a player and GM and I can say I am excited. Already I'm thinking up some ideas on how to create adventures and characters. Thank you Paizo for releasing this great product. I can't wait to see what else is available from the other Pathfinder books.

I would say the biggest upgrade from 3.5 is the classes and getting a feat every other level, it all makes for great customization. With this many reviews theres really nothing to add.

I'll not say anything anyone else hasn't said here. Other than "FIVE STARS, YOU GLORIOUS BASTARDS! HA HA HA! I'M A UNICORN-ON-THE-COB!"

I don't think anyone else said that yet.

Paizo's products for 3.5 were some of my favorites for that system so when I heard that they were releasing their own system based on 3.5 I knew I would eventually pick up a copy. I do not regret paying the fifty bucks for this product. It is familar enough to 3.5 that you don't have to spend much time learning the rules. The changes to the classes and races are really cool, the bloodlines for the Sorcerer class being one of my favorites. The artwork is great, some of the best I've seen in a long time.
The only complaint I have is the binding is already wearing out on my copy and I haven't had it that long. But that's not really a big deal to me. It happens.

To start with, I would have preferred to give this 4.5 stars but the option does not exist. I can not give this game a perfect rating but the drawbacks are very minor...

I had heard nothing of Pathfinder until a friend of mine (who had never played the game) referred me to it after my overwhelming disappointment with DnD 4e. I am a long time gamer (over 25 years) and I generally tend to fringe games rather than core systems. I did play a good deal of AD&D in my time though so I tried DnD at 3e as well and was sorely disappointed then too. I skipped 3.5 as it seemed a money making venture and tried again at 4e to be totally gutted that this is the core system the industry is based on.

So I had just bought a load of 4e stuff when I bought this book and after 6 months those purchases were sold, unread and unopened on ebay after buying Pathfinder Core Rules. This system is SO usable, intuitive and well presented. At its heart is a focus on roleplaying rather than tabletop gaming and it is presented so beautifully.

The system is familiar, improved and well balanced. Information is presented in a cohesive format although the tome is a daunting task with many, many pages of rules.

This book covers the basics and largely all you need to play is one of the bestiary books for a true monster hunt!

The problems are minor but will have an effect on novice players. Firstly, there needs to be a detailed process on building a character. In this book it is spread out and you really need some experience to bring a character to fruition. Many games these days drop the character building tutorial and that sucks for newbies. Secondly, a lot of the important game affecting rules appear in appendices. Things like the way conditions effect, poisons and diseases are all shunted into the appendix. It makes them hard to find when using the index, or even when you make a logical guess at what chapter they should be in.

Love this game though. It is the best fantasy game on the market so GO AND BUY IT!

Paizo did a great job updating D&D 3.5 and to their credit the changes have been interesting, well balanced, and have stood the test of time. If you like D&D, you will love Pathfinder.

Pros:
1. dmg and phb in one book

2. for a book this large the price is great and the pdf price is amazing

3. Wayne Reynolds... best artist in the industry and this book is jam packed with his unique fantasy style

Cons:
the size and weight of this book might make the binding come apart sooner than i would like

I found out about Paizo, and Pathfinder system in 2009 while hunting for 3.5 books for my brothers in a FLGS. At first I was resistant to a new game system, but after finding that I could not get new 3.5 books, I broke down and got 3 of these books. 1 for me, and the other 2 for my brothers.

Pros:
1) Fixed 90% of what I didn't like about 3.5
2) Combined the PHB & DMG into one book.
3) Fantastic artwork IMO
4) Logical layout, and doesn't seem to be scattered randomly like older editions.
5) Makes the core classes viable.

Con
1) The book is cheaply bound, but I'm ok with that, since it was monetarily cheap to begin with. Which is what is important to me. I have tape for a reason.

Overall, it's a great book, and I recommend it to any older system D&D player I meet, and I regularily advertise how awesome this game is. Thank you Paizo!

My wife decided to allow our GM to have a break and try her hand at GMing. So I had the Core book (1st print) already. She looked through it and a buddy had the subscription for the Adventure path.

Serpent's Skull Adventure path is what we will be playing, my wife had me get more books so I went for the subscriptions. I suggest you do the same!! Keep up the awesome great work Paizo!!!