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Pathfinder2 review:

In 20 years I have played, read or game mastered more systems than I can count. Some I loved, some I tolerated.

I can still remember how pleasantly surprised I was by Pathfinder 1 compared to 3.5 of the 'original role playing game.' Unlimited cantrips? AWESOME. Hey look, easy multiclassing! Better Grapple rules, introducing a single stat to consolidate trip, grapple, disarm, and with the Advanced Player's Guide, new types of maneuvers into one defense stat and one offense stat. Added to that, solid reasons to take a class to 20 levels. Best of all, fighting classes all got a much needed overhauls. No system is perfect, but Pathfinder had done a really good job of giving players options. And it has been a blast to play. Pathfinder Society served both as an entry point for new players and a fun way to be able to drop in and just play. If there is one problem is that it tried to put a rule to everything and has some inconsistency problems here and there.

The challenge with any follow on edition is keeping what made the previous edition awesome while both fixing problems and innovating. For example, the "original role play game's" conversion from 2nd to 3rd did a marvelous job of making it easier to follow and easier to get involved, while keeping the flavor that made the 'original game' what it was. Then the 'original game' put out 4th edition. It likely wasn't bad, but it fell flat with my gaming group. By the way, this is not the only system I've seen this with. Mechwarrior's 3rd edition fell flat with me because of how they handled origins.

Which brings me to my first impression of the new edition. My first impression on reading the play test was, in a word, "Meh."

There are several interesting ideas, but the implementation is lacking. Take ancestry feats. This would be a good idea, if the way of giving them to players hadn't involved stripping off Pathfinder racial traits and spreading them up levels. This is fixable. Give them 3 feats to pick from 1st levels. Dig into the Advanced Race Guide and bring the alternate traits in as new 1st level options, and come up with some either upgrades or improvements for higher levels.

Likewise, since everything seems to run off of attribute bonuses, instead of the attributes, why not just go directly to the bonus. Ie "All characters start at +0, human can select two +1's to any two stats, to a maximum of +4" instead of the extra complications. It's been done elsewhere, for example, Mutants and Mastermind's 3rd edition. It's not a bad simplification. Move the 'random roll' stuff over to GM section as an optional rule. Speaking of GM's section. Get the GM stuff back in the main book where it belongs. Players will buy the Bestiary on their own. Honest!

Multiclassing under the new system is less than impressive. Pathfinder1 made it easy and if a player really wants to dabble in ten different classes, they can, but have solid reasons not to. This system.. not so much.

Other easy fix to my mind is to return combat feats back to general. The only things that should be in those classes should be things that should ONLY be for those classes. Half the fun of Pathfinder1 was making combinations like a wizard who could fight using stances or with dual weapons, even though the character was pure wizard.

Honestly, I'm mediocre on the change to skill points. I like Pathfinder skill points, but I do appreciate fighters getting a badly needed extra skill. On the positive, I like skill feats and the fact that they come up frequently. The removal of CMD and CMB I will have to play test to judge what I think.

Backgrounds are a neat addition to replace traits, with Lore coming from the background of the character. Though it might be interesting to have feats that play into that background feat.

The other problem is resonance. I get the idea, but I don't think it works. It does not make a magic item unique... it makes it another limited resource. Honestly, 3.5's Weapons of Legacy or Scaling items (first place I saw it was Arcanis, but I think I saw it in 13th age as well) might be a better idea. The bonded Item from Pathfinder's wizard and Paladin classes were a neat idea as well as something that would grow alongside the character. I'm neutral on runes. They're nice, and would be a cost saver in a campaign at higher levels. Again it's nice, but not spectacular.

Honestly, my first impression is that it needs at least another year of development beyond what's planned and really go back to ones and try to recapture that magic, because from where I sit, this edition just doesn't have it.

Thank you for listening.

PFS Option 6... 7 ... maybe 42 at this point?

So I've been thinking about this, and here's what I'd propose on handling Pathfinder Society Classic, while we move to New Pathfinder Society and after (yes, the Coca Cola joke is intentional for those old enough): Crowd Source it.

I get that Paizo will not be doing new modules or formalized seasons for Classic PFS once 2nd Ed launches. That's cool for Paizo the company. While PFS could evergreen everything, it looses some of the flavor, as well as the fun of saying 'yeah, we did that once.. here's the story.'

It is going to be a bit before New Pathfinder, and by extension, new Pathfinder Society comes online, and some of us aren't super ready to learn yet another new system because the powers that be like planned obsolescence. I can't blame them, it's been a decade, and honestly 1st Ed has gotten to Star Fleet Battles levels of complexity.

However, dumping the whole old edition presents a real downer for those who spent large amounts supporting Paizo over the years and who like the idea of Pathfinder Society, and who may not want to start over. Also, it's a bit rough on the Friendly Neighborhood gaming stores, who bought Pathfinder sourcebooks to sell to their customers and now don't have the demand at all, possibly.

So what we have right now is a win/loose to a loose/loose as in, Paizo wins by getting people to buy another edition just to stay with PFS, or loose/loose, which is they just move onto another system or company, and either case the local gaming stores end up loosing possibly by being stuck with an unsalable product, or one that won't sell at retail anymore.

Why do gaming stores matter? They're the gaming systems diplomats. This is the first place people tend to get introduced to new systems, a chance to see it's value and invest by buying their own books. They also tend to run on very tight margins. PFS is a large chunk of that free advertising.

Right now, the PFS sails are slack, and the ship drifts a bit rudderless, after years of being blown by powerful myth arcs, fun adventures, and good old fashion goblin chaos. Sorry captain, just calling it like I see it.

Okay, here's what I'd do to keep the PFS Classic Ball rolling both once we go into new edition and beyond: We Crowd Source it.

Take your top ten Venture Captains and form a PFS Classic module approval board from volunteers. Let them take submissions in from the fan base, and maybe once a quarter they approve a new Pathfinder Society Classic Scenario. Structure legal appropriately and perhaps generously to approved modules, so everyone wins. And hey, if anything's particularly good and exciting, it can be converted to new PFS.

Also, I'd do classic consolidated books. Classic Ultimate Spells (every single classic spell, one source), Classic Classes and archetypes, with full level advancement tables for all classes, and if there is room, Prestige classes. And finally, allow racial unlocks for players in Society. Maybe a 1x a year 1 of anything you want or something.

In the end, Everyone wins. The old books keep selling decently, because there's a demand, even if not as much. Old players can keep what they've done and join New PFS as they're ready. Paizo doesn't maintain PFS Classic, the fans do for as long as they want it. All Paizo does is keep the website's lights on and let them run tables at 'cons. And Paizo gets great ideas from the field, and the PFS fans don't feel left out in the cold.

Oh well, enough from me. I've been enjoying 1st Ed PFS, and have ordered 2nd ED Pathfinder to playtest when it's ready.

The Thingie wrote:

Thanks for entering RPG Superstar—good luck!

Your submission was received 5 minutes ago

And now? Now, I pummel myself with all the doubting madness of how stupid it was to post so early and why I didn't have <name a random acquaintance here> proof it beforehand and how it should've been sexier somehow and how I'm sure I've jinxed myself by submitting while sick and...

How `bout I just breathe, get some sleep, and start putting my archetype to paper, hmm?

How about you?

I had a great idea for an item, but no time to put to bed till today. So, we'll see how I do. *laughs* Okay *I* think it's a great idea, but then I admit to total bias. Work and Christmas ate most of my December. I'm basically going to assume that nothing will come of it, and be pleasantly suprised if I hear otherwise, otherwise I'll drive myself insane with the waiting.

Where can you find the Beta PDF on this? Heck, I've been working my own conversions for the past few weeks, and dreaming about them since I got my mitts on the Pathfinder rules and using an old download of the old 1.0a OGL rules for 3.5. (and Yes I agree, Soulknife always needed BAB +1 per level, it's a pure fighter class and was an error from the get go, having actually played one). But hey, if someone's doing it official, I'd love to playtest, or at least see what they're thinking and doing.

Sadly, I'm one of the Love it crowd of psionics. And frankly I did some number crunching on Psi's and compared them to the new Pathfinder Wizards and sorcerers, and to keep up, they'll need to be updated, at least some. I'd love to do this as a conversion book. Basically if they hate it, Pathfinder looses nothing, and I'm the only one out time. As I understand it, Psionics is still OGL, so if Path has it, cool.

Eh, heck with it, I'll do it anyways, I just wish I knew who to offer it to. Worst comes to worst, it goes up as freeware to folks like me who know what it is psionics offers to a game.

Some of the conversions are easy. concentration goes into psicraft instead of spell craft.

Soulknife gets a workover similar to that of the Ranger (it needs it, I've played them. they come with an inch of awesome, and then fall on their face) AS it is, I think the entire soulbow could be scrapped and turned into a single feat and be as good.

Wilder should, at minimum pick up 9 powers, bringing it up to about 20 powers total (no book in front of me)

I also think Psions and Wilders should have minor alignment restrictions (no lawful Wilder, no Chaotic psion due to the nature of mind magic, and really how it SHOULD work, which is to say an expression of who you are, not always what you've learned)

Simplifications on stuff like 'like as' rules.... etc.

Eh, I ramble. Anyone know who i can ask on the subject?

ArkenK