Click here to get the Pathfinder RPG Beta PDF

Welcome to the Beta Playtest of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the world's largest open RPG playtest. The Pathfinder RPG is an evolution of the 3.5 rules set of the world's most popular roleplaying game, designed using feedback from you and your group of dedicated gamers. To get started, you can download entire rule set for free as a PDF or you can buy a full-color soft cover edition of the rules to throw around the game table. After you've got the rules, give them a read through, play a few games, and post up your feedback in our forums. There, you will find thousands of other gamers, contributing to this massive, shared endeavor.

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game launched in March of 2008 as a number of small Alpha documents. Over the course of three months, over 25,000 gamers downloaded the rules and posted up their feedback, much of which went into the design of the Beta edition of the rules. Over the next eight months, we will be exploring these rules in detail, refining them into a finished game, to be released in August 2009.

These rules are designed with backwards compatibility in mind. Meaning that if you already own a bookshelf full of 3.5 rulebooks, the Pathfinder RPG is designed to work with only a minimal amount of conversion. In fact, the Pathfinder RPG is designed to smooth over a number of the rough spots of the 3.5 rule set, making a number of existing books even easier to use.

We are devoted to making the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game into the game that you want to play and we are excited to welcome you to the growing community of players, game-masters, and designers involved with this massive project. So roll up your sleeves and dive right in. We are waiting for your feedback.

—Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

Frequently asked questions about Pathfinder RPG.