The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game puts you in the role of a brave adventurer fighting to survive in a world beset by magic and evil. Will you cut your way through monster-filled ruins and cities rife with political intrigue to emerge as a famous hero laden with fabulous treasure, or will you fall victim to treacherous traps and fiendish monsters in a forgotten dungeon? Your fate is yours to decide with this giant Core Rulebook that provides everything a player needs to set out on a life of adventure and excitement!
This imaginative tabletop game builds upon more than 10 years of system development and an open playtest involving more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook includes:
All player and Game Master rules in a single volume
Complete rules for fantastic player races like elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs
Exciting new options for character classes like fighters, wizards, rogues, clerics, and more
Streamlined and updated rules for feats and skills that increase options for your hero
A simple combat system with easy rules for grapples, bull rushes, and other special attacks
Spellcaster options for magic domains, familiars, bonded items, specialty schools, and more
Hundreds of revised, new, and updated spells and magical treasures
Quick-generation guidelines for nonplayer characters
Expanded rules for curses, diseases, and poisons
A completely overhauled experience system with options for slow, medium, and fast advancement
... and much, much more!
Available Formats
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is also available as:
If there is any one book to have, it is this one. It is the only Pathfinder book you will ever need to start playing, but if you're like me you'll eventually want more.
When I first learned of tabletop RPGs my attention turned to D&D even though I knew next to nothing about it, nor did I know of anyone who played it. I only knew it because it was the name everyone knew when someone said "tabletop RPG" and the answer wasn't "what is that?" I wanted to play it but I didn't know where to start. I was lost, forlorn, and alone.
Then, one fateful day, I met someone online who told me about Pathfinder. I took one look at the Core Rulebook and I never looked back, and to this day I don't regret the decision one bit. The Core Rulebook is a solid start to any aspiring tabletop gamer's adventure and is a must own not only for the abundance of useful information it provides but also for the clean presentation and the magnificent art provided by Wayne Reynolds.
In short, if you want to play Pathfinder and haven't already, pick this book up immediately. It is well worth it.
Legendary. It’s hard to know where to begin to review this book, but that one word encapsulates it well. There’s a reason Pathfinder is thriving a decade into its existence, and it all starts here. If you don’t know anything about Pathfinder, you can think of it as a revised and improved version of a specific edition of D&D (the “3.5” edition). Its strength is the nearly infinite capacity for customization, and its weakness is that enormous customization introduces complexity. In other words, this is a “crunch heavy” instead of a “rules light” game. Trust me, it’s worth it though. This is going to be a long review because I’ve got fifteen chapters to cover in this massive, 575-page book! If you don’t have the patience to read through the whole review, the conclusion makes it clear: buy this book. With this and the Bestiary, you have years of adventure at your fingertips.
Chapter 1 is “Getting Started” (12 pages). This chapter contains a brief introduction to the game, an overview of each chapter, a glossary of common terms, an example of play (very useful if this is your first RPG ever), and the rules for generating ability scores for a character (how physically and mentally capable they are).
Chapter 2 is “Races” (11 pages). The “Core” races presented here are: Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Halflings, and Humans. As you would imagine, there are advantages and disadvantages to each race. The chapter spends a page on each race, and beyond the rules ramifications it takes care to talk about what members of that race typically look like, what their culture is like, why they often become adventurers, and how they relate to other races. It’s not an overwhelming amount of information (which is good for new players). For the most part, these races stick to fairly standard fantasy expectations.
Chapter 3 is “Classes” (57 pages). There are eleven “core classes” presented in this book: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Wizard. The spread of classes does an excellent job covering different play-styles and roles within a group. The power level of these classes has been significantly bumped up from D&D 3.5, and there are a lot more choices to be made within each class. This makes the classes more complex, but also more satisfying to see advance up through each level. If you’re brand-new to Pathfinder, it might be good to stay away from spell-casters like the Druid, Cleric, Sorcerer, and Wizard until you get more experience, as the sheer number of choices to be made can be overwhelming at first.
Chapter 4 is “Skills” (27 pages). Skills are something that every character has and they determine the likelihood of success in doing certain things. Want to leap from one rooftop to another? Roll an Acrobatics check. Want to figure out what spell that evil wizard just cast at you? Roll a Spellcraft check. Different classes get bonuses to using particular skills, but every character, regardless of class, can become good at something if they invest their “skill points” in a particular skill. Pathfinder has condensed the number of skills slightly from D&D 3.5, though it still has more than newer RPGs tend to have. I like the diversity and ability to specialize in discrete areas, but some think there should have been further consolidation. Each skill is described with great detail on specifically what it allows you to do and not do, which is quite helpful in avoiding rules arguments.
Chapter 5 is “Feats” (29 pages). Feats are special abilities. Every character gets to choose one feat at every odd level, and some classes and races get “bonus” feats. A feat might be something that lets you fight better in darkness (“Blindfighting”) or it might be something that makes certain spells you cast more effective (“Spell Focus”). There are several dozen feats to choose from, so this can be one of the parts of character creation that takes the longest to do. Their value, again, is that they allow for enormous customization of a character. Just because there are two Fighters in the party doesn’t mean they’ll be identical, because feats allow them to operate in very different ways!
Chapter 6 is “Equipment” (16 pages). Your character will need a weapon, maybe some armor, and some other gear like a backpack or a coil of rope. But in addition, you might wonder how expensive a night’s stay at an inn is, or how much it’ll cost to persuade a local wizard to cast a spell for you. All of the answers are in this chapter. I really appreciate that every item and service isn’t just listed on a table with a price, but in addition most receive a description, a picture, and (sometimes) additional rules to explain how it works in actual gameplay.
Chapter 7 is “Additional Rules” (13 pages). The title of this chapter isn’t particularly helpful, as the entire book consists of rules. Really, it’s a miscellany of various things about your character. First up is Alignment, which is whether your character is good, evil, or somewhere in between. A lot of other RPGs dispense with such questions, but it is “hard-coded” into Pathfinder in the sense that it’s not just a role-playing choice: many spells, magic items, and other effects change depending on a character’s alignment. Next, there’s a few pages on “Vital Statistics” like determining a character’s age, height and weight, and (most importantly) carrying capacity (also known as “encumbrance”). If your character has a low Strength score, don’t expect him or her to be able to carry a lot of gear. Then, there’s a discussion of movement speeds in various contexts (in the course of a combat encounter, for example, or for travelling great distances overland). Last, a bunch of little things are covered under the title “Exploration”: how far characters can see in different levels of light, how to determine if an object can be intentionally broken, etc. It’s a chapter that’s easy to overlook but provides answers to a lot of “little things” that might come up during a session.
Chapter 8 is “Combat” (29 pages). Combat is a major part of Pathfinder, and there’s admittedly a lot to digest in a short number of pages here. The way the chapter is laid out isn’t necessarily intuitive, and later Paizo products (like the Strategy Guide) do a much better job making combat clearer. You’ll find everything you need in this chapter, but you’ll be flipping back and forth for a while. I’ve been playing for years and I still refer to it occasionally.
Chapter 9 is “Magic” (19 pages). This chapter discusses different categories of spells, how characters learn them, and how to read a spell entry in the next chapter. It’s a chapter that’s easy to skip over at first, but is actually pretty important once a campaign gets serious.
Chapter 10 is “Spells” (156 pages). You read that right: about a quarter of the book consists of an alphabetical list and description of several hundred different spells! The spells have been cleaned up and improved from D&D 3.5 for better gameplay, but what hasn’t changed is that magic still rules. If pure power is what you want, play a true spell-caster and you’ll find it.
Chapter 11 is “Prestige Classes” (23 pages). Prestige Classes are special classes that characters can eventually take, well into their adventuring careers, if they meet certain prerequisites. This book has ten of them: Arcane Archer, Arcane Trickster, Assassin, Dragon Disciple, Duelist, Eldritch Knight, Loremaster, Mystic Theurge, Pathfinder Chronicler, and Shadowdancer. For the most part, and until very recent, Pathfinder hasn’t been a game where prestige classes thrive. Apart from some specific flavour reasons, a character would usually be better off simply continuing in their base class rather than taking levels in a prestige class.
Chapter 12 is “Gamemastering” (15 pages). As its title indicates, this chapter helps the person running a game (the “Gamemaster” or “GM”) prepare an adventure, referee the rules, deal with common problems at the table, etc. It’s okay for what it is, but I’ve seen better resources to help new GMs figure out what they’re doing.
Chapter 13 is “Environment” (39 pages). This chapter contains a lot of little things to help make the setting interesting. It contains rules on weather, travelling through the wilderness, dealing with traps, and so forth. It’s primarily for the GM too and shouldn’t be a priority to master until more fundamental rules are digested.
Chapter 14 is “Creating NPCs” (11 pages). This chapter gives rules for creating background (non-player) characters by using “NPC classes” like a Commoner. I have to admit I never use this chapter, as I just rely on NPC stat blocks already generated in other Pathfinder products.
Chapter 15 is “Magic Items” (101 pages). Your adventurer is going to want some cool magic gear, and this chapter explains what it does, how much it costs, and how it’s made. It’s pretty extensive and detailed.
Last up, there are appendices summarizing “Special Abilities”, “Conditions” (status effects a character might be under), “Inspiring Reading”, and “Game Aids” (other products you can purchase).
The Core Rulebook is a hefty tome for an RPG book. For players coming from D&D 3.5, it’s basically a combination of the Player’s Handbook and the Dungeon Master’s Guide in a single volume, but refined and improved. The book is, with the single exception of the deities, completely “setting neutral” (that is, it’s suitable for play in any campaign world or a homemade setting). There’s some excellent artwork taken from other Paizo products mixed in with some artwork that’s more pedestrian. Still, the production quality overall is fantastic. I would normally go into more detail, but there are hard word counts on these reviews. So I’ll sum up by saying: this is the one book you won’t leave home without, and it’s worth every penny.
Special Note: The Core Rulebook was recently released in a smaller softcover. The interior is exactly the same as the sixth printing of the hardcover, but it’s lighter and easier to carry. I’ve been using it for a few months now, and I’m quite happy with the font size, reduced price, durability, and ease of use.
This book is at the heart of all Pathfinder games. It is great and can be picked up regularly cheap with sales all over. (Humble Bundle 1$) I myself have a PDF but plan to pickup a hardcopy one day. Either one will do the trick and is always good to keep handy. I like the PDF because you can do keyword searches. Even if you don't ever use it. The cover art is pretty awesome.
After years of seeing the Pathfinder rule books on the shelves of my FLGS, I took the plunge in December of 2012. I bought the Core Rulebook and began skimming it immediately. My first discovery was the character creation rules. They were fun! Characters were cool in a way that I hadn't seen in previous editions of the world's oldest role-playing game. Within three months, I was up and running my first Pathfinder adventure. That was three years ago and I have no regrets getting involved with the Pathfinder system.
Thank you Paizo! You have made an old (style) gamer very happy today! I was dreading the possibility of me having to get out of fantasy roleplaying altogether once i ran out of the published material I had (have no real interest in learning a whole new system). You have just saved my game and ensured a very loyal customer for years to come. I look forward to the new system and have just placed an order for the new book!
This is just too awesome. I saw the announcement after coming home from gaming last night and was thrilled. Even more excited this morning! I've preordered this and the beta hardcopy as well.
As soon as I was told about the Pathfinder set-up, I had to get on the website and check it out for my self. I’m new to the Piazo family, but love what I have seen so far.
The fact that the huge sums of money that I have put into the 3.5 system will not be going to waste is great!
I’m also exited about the additional tweaks being made to the system. The expanded abilities for the cleric and wizard classes look very interesting.
I’m looking forward to Pathfinder with an excitement, as opposed to the looming dread that 4.0 has created with me and many of my gaming friends.
Thank you all so much for keeping a great system alive and my subscription to the magazine is on the way!
esta bueno el manual pero deberian de cambiar lo de los puntajes de los rangos de los skills, en ves de hacerlo automata como lo hace saga, hacerlo por el medio clasico de reparticion de puntos de skills, lo unico que tendrian que arreglar solo es la tabla de rangos por nivel.
asi no se vuelve muy mecanico y carente del factor creativo del jugador, lo cual es lo malo que ha tenido Starwars saga en ese lado, los skills muy mecanisados y monotonos en ves de arreglarlo de una forma mas fluida
Any chance of this getting out to us before GenCon Indy '09? It'd be great to not only be able to have a booth and sell the product to GenCon goers but also bring my copy and have you guys sign it.
Oh... even better is if I could set up a 3.75 game to run at GenCon..
Thanks Vic! That seems like an excellent idea as well. If it is ready for GenCon '09 do you (Paizo) have any ideas set up for playtesting at the convention? Games, encounter runs.. etc..
Thanks Vic! That seems like an excellent idea as well. If it is ready for GenCon '09 do you (Paizo) have any ideas set up for playtesting at the convention? Games, encounter runs.. etc..
Right now, we're focused on Gen Con '08, where we'll launch the Pathfidner Society organized play program, but you can expect us to make it a very big deal for '09.
I have resisted the forked tongued devils trying to push me to 4th edition. I have steeled my resolve and resisted, and for my rewards a light has shone down upon me and revealed in all it's glory this product.
Like finding your first magic item, I will savor opening the 420 pages and smelling the fresh print and know I made the right choice, new is not always better, but this is one of the exceptions.
To the abyss with you 4th edition, you will not capture my soul with your honey flavored lies!
I cannot wait to attain this book, for inside is all that glitters.
HH.
p.s. Our D&D group switched to the Pathfinder adventures after our DM of 15+ years disappeared on us, and so far we love it.
august 2009? i still need to finish my current homebrew campaign...then play Age of Worms... then play Savage Tide... then play Rise of the Runelords... then Curse of the Crimson Throne... and really wanted to give a shot at Star Wars Saga... aw my gawd... so much to play... so little time...
maybe i could be done by the time DnD 25th edition comes out... aw well...
Mid Last year a friend introduced me to Dungeon Magazine (and I must admit to being very ashamed of that fact - been playing D&D and others since 1980)
shortly after - found out that Paizo was bumped by WotC
yesterday talked to a Game Shop owner who mentioned Pathfinder (he told me that it was a "new version of Dungeon" and that Paizo was going to be putting out a "3.75 version"
I then went home and looked up Paizo on the internet and have been reading the Alpha and the two released arcs constantly since. (GF will not be happy when I tell her that I will be getting back into DMing ;) )
Does anyone know if they plan on releasing a PDF version?
One of my projects after the PRPG's release is combine all the spells I'll allow into my game in one huge binder for easy acces/reference. Being able to copy and paste the spells from my rulebook of choice would greatly speed up the process.
Still have the print version on pre-order by the way.
A question about the Pathfinder RPG cover: Is that the final version or just a mock-up? I really like the cover art, btw. But is it really going to be orange/reddish? The gray of the Alpha and the beige of the Beta look a lot more stylish IMO. Goes better with the winter-themed artwork, too.
A question about the Pathfinder RPG cover: Is that the final version or just a mock-up? I really like the cover art, btw. But is it really going to be orange/reddish? The gray of the Alpha and the beige of the Beta look a lot more stylish IMO. Goes better with the winter-themed artwork, too.
It's just a mockup. The Alpha and the Beta use artwork that was scavenged from our other products—that particular piece was taken from the cover of Pathfinder #5. We'll be commissioning new art for the final cover.
The Beta has been wonderful and we're looking forward to purchasing the hardcover. This is the game we've been wanting to play. Thanks so much for all the terrific Pathfinder material.
I hope so, I like having the hardcopies, but lately most of my rpg gaming is done sitting in front of my computer & such, so it would be nice to be able reference those rules off the computer & such.
& I hope you don't take this the wrong way but I hate having to pay twice for the same product & such.
Hrmm. The hardcover would indicate that Dwarves are a mere foot shorter than humans (on average), while the height tables in the RotRL and CotCT Player's guides indicate an average difference of a foot and a half.
Does the CS override the older player's guides, or should this be chalked up to rounding?
Hrmm. The hardcover would indicate that Dwarves are a mere foot shorter than humans (on average), while the height tables in the RotRL and CotCT Player's guides indicate an average difference of a foot and a half.
Does the CS override the older player's guides, or should this be chalked up to rounding?
Wow. How did you get it a year early? I didn't even think it had been written yet.
(I think you meant to post this in the campaign setting hardcover thread)
Incredible marketing move folks. I think you have secured quite a large customer base. Those of us who prefer not to adjust our D&D experiences to drastically, both from a player and DM perspective. I was extremely dismayed when i heard about the 4.0 revision and the changes that were made. I have play tested the Pathfinder Alpha & Beta releases and it has surely secured my loyalty and that of my gamers for quite a long while yet. My sincere thanks for supporting your roleplay comrades the world over by tweaking the 3.5 rules. Long live Pathfinder and Paizo!!
Chief Technical Officer
