I just want to take a moment here in this sea of negativity and offer some positive thoughts on the playtest.
First off, I think there are a lot of reactionary emotions surrounding this release. I see similar responses every time a new edition of Warhammer is announced, or a new Civ game hits the stores. It seems like a lot of people were hoping this would be Pathfinder 1.5 rather than a full 2nd edition, but is that really what we needed? Pathfinder 1st edition is a fantastic game; it’s big and it’s bulky and I love every +1 and -1/2 per level in its pages. I run a Pathfinder campaign and I’ll keep running it till the last page of the adventure path is completed, and maybe even beyond if my group wants to stay in the world they’ve helped create.
Pathfinder 1st edition isn’t going anywhere. It will still be on your bookshelf or on your hard drive and the game will still be as awesome as it always was. Nothing is changing that.
This playtest isn’t here to patch a few iffy systems or grease up some slow-working templates. It’s a new Pathfinder, and I think the “new” part of it is incredibly refreshing and energizing. I can’t think of the last time I was excited about skill checks, or the way I rolled for initiative. That was all just putting gas in your tank so you could get to the adventure. Now, even these small things are adventures themselves.
I understand much of this is probably excitement over something new, but why is that a bad thing? I’m reading through these books, marveling at how they’re so distinctively “Pathfinder” while also being so new and feeling just like when I was a kid reading my friend’s Player’s Handbook for the first time with my mind seeing entire worlds opening before me. That’s a precious feeling to have at this stage in my life that I refuse to ignore.
The new approaches to feats, the way everything looks so modular and customizable, the proficiency system and how everything feels knit together are all fantastic in my opinion. This playtest is much like the art included in the rulebook: passionate sketches of awesome things with enough detail to help your imagination fill in the blanks. Sure, there’s a lot missing (it’s a playtest after all) but this is a proof of concept, not a final product and what I’m seeing is a framework that allows more freedom in almost every aspect.
I’m excited to see what Paizo delivers to us a year from now. Congrats on such a great playtest release and thank you for all your work keeping my imagination alive and bringing fun to our table. You should know that my partner and I both think you’re doing a great job and that we appreciate everything you do.
