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:
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.
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!
You know I'm as excited about the new system as anyone, but is it really appropriate to have 3 5-star reviews months before the final system is released?
I hate that it is possible for any reviewer to review any product in the online store before it is released, and I agree that it is inappropriate and does not serve the community well. Is it possible to delete such reviews and close the product off from reviews until it is released?
I was just going to post something about how annoying it is to see someone post a review of something that hasn't even come out yet. Glad to see its not just me that has a problem with this.
I was just going to post something about how annoying it is to see someone post a review of something that hasn't even come out yet. Glad to see its not just me that has a problem with this.
Yeah, me too. Although I could give the cover and the layout (based on the 'races' page) five stars now. :)
Are there some new ones taken from the RPG Superstar list?
Nope. It is pretty much the ones from the SRD. And trust me, that was plenty. (says Lisa, who spent an entire Sunday proofing the Magic Items chapter).
Being a subscriber and someone who's going to be at GenCon, what are the chances that my Pre-Order will arrive on Tuesday before I head out to the 'Con?
Seeing as how the beta was far better than that hideous game called 4th edition Dnd, I absolutely can not wait to get my hands on the ridiculously huge final copy of this book. Pathfinder FTW!
or, as an alternative to the question MattDroz made, what is the possibility of pre-ordering and being able to pick it up *at* Gen Con from your wonderful booth if delivery pre-Gen Con is questionable?
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Dom C wrote:
or, as an alternative to the question MattDroz made, what is the possibility of pre-ordering and being able to pick it up *at* Gen Con from your wonderful booth if delivery pre-Gen Con is questionable?
Answered before - If you pre-order, it will ship to your regular shipping address. However, if you wait and purchase it at Gen-Con, they can charge it to your Paizo account as if you ordered it. This way you do not need to take extra money. (This was the way they did it for me at Origins last year.)
Being a subscriber and someone who's going to be at GenCon, what are the chances that my Pre-Order will arrive on Tuesday before I head out to the 'Con?
Hopefully we'll be able to begin shipping them out a week or so ahead of the release date, but odds of you receiving it three days early are fairly low.
Answered before - If you pre-order, it will ship to your regular shipping address. However, if you wait and purchase it at Gen-Con, they can charge it to your Paizo account as if you ordered it. This way you do not need to take extra money. (This was the way they did it for me at Origins last year.)
Thank you Charles, but that's not exactly what I meant by my question.
I was talking about pre-ordering it for pick up at Gen Con, in a scenerio where my copy was held due to pre-payment and I did not have to worry about sell-out runs or fighting through crowds of people to get the book. I'd be interested in something like "for pick-up by close on Friday or the tagged copy goes into the -for-sale- bin".
Not to mention there may be incentives given for pre-orderers which I would want to take part in (like the free PDF idea, if that's what happens) which the "just buy at Gen Con" doesn't cover.
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Dom C wrote:
Thank you Charles, but that's not exactly what I meant by my question.
I was talking about pre-ordering it for pick up at Gen Con, in a scenerio where my copy was held due to pre-payment and I did not have to worry about sell-out runs or fighting through crowds of people to get the book. I'd be interested in something like "for pick-up by close on Friday or the tagged copy goes into the -for-sale- bin".
Not to mention there may be incentives given for pre-orderers which I would want to take part in (like the free PDF idea, if that's what happens) which the "just buy at Gen Con" doesn't cover.
The Paizo staff answered this before. Pre-Orders will be shipped to your mailing address. They will not hold it for you at Gen-Con.
I hate that it is possible for any reviewer to review any product in the online store before it is released, and I agree that it is inappropriate and does not serve the community well. Is it possible to delete such reviews and close the product off from reviews until it is released?
Preventing early reviews isn't worth the effort—and it *is* possible that sometimes people have early access to the finished product anyway. However, I agree that it's inappropriate for people who haven't examined the product to post ratings, so I've left the "reviews" but deleted the ratings.
And it is one of the big things they are bringing out at Gencon so I expect even if they had it in July - it would still be the August unveiling... That and the first PRPG Adventure Path.
And it is one of the big things they are bringing out at Gencon so I expect even if they had it in July - it would still be the August unveiling... That and the first PRPG Adventure Path.
The release date is August 13—the first day of Gen Con.
And it is one of the big things they are bringing out at Gencon so I expect even if they had it in July - it would still be the August unveiling... That and the first PRPG Adventure Path.
The release date is August 13—the first day of Gen Con.
The pdf should be put up for this sooner than usual. Not on the day, becasue that would break the website, but within a week really.
The pdf should be put up for this sooner than usual. Not on the day, becasue that would break the website, but within a week really.
Any word on when the subscription is announced?
There is a lead up to that question, 'what other core books will they publsh?'
Elsewhere on the board, Erik Mona intimated that they would announce subscri[tions when they had a firm idea of what other core books they would be publishing; and that the end of PaizoCon (June 14th) would be a good time for such an announcement.
The pdf should be put up for this sooner than usual. Not on the day, becasue that would break the website, but within a week really.
Any word on when the subscription is announced?
There is a lead up to that question, 'what other core books will they publsh?'
Elsewhere on the board, Erik Mona intimated that they would announce subscri[tions when they had a firm idea of what other core books they would be publishing; and that the end of PaizoCon (June 14th) would be a good time for such an announcement.
The release date is August 13—the first day of Gen Con.
The pdf should be put up for this sooner than usual. Not on the day, becasue that would break the website, but within a week really.
You might recall that PDFs become available for sale on the retail release date of the associated print product. So August 13 is the day for the PDF as well.
(Subscribers should be getting the PDFs shortly before that, when their subscriber copy ships.)
And no matter how many times people ask, the answer on when we'll announce subscription details is going to be "soon," right up until we announce it.
The release date is August 13—the first day of Gen Con.
The pdf should be put up for this sooner than usual. Not on the day, becasue that would break the website, but within a week really.
You might recall that PDFs become available for sale on the retail release date of the associated print product. So August 13 is the day for the PDF as well.
(Subscribers should be getting the PDFs shortly before that, when their subscriber copy ships.)
And no matter how many times people ask, the answer on when we'll announce subscription details is going to be "soon," right up until we announce it.
I was thinking less about spiolers and more like "we didn't really like how. . . . played out, so don't get to into using it", or "Too many people didn't like how this worked, so we are looking at going to this. . . ."
Are there any plans to create any RPGXplorer Datasets for PRPG? Being a gamer who doubles as a computer nerd, I found that RPGXplorer is an incredibly useful product and the Datasets I've found for it really make it a useful resource.
I was thinking less about spiolers and more like "we didn't really like how. . . . played out, so don't get to into using it", or "Too many people didn't like how this worked, so we are looking at going to this. . . ."
But it's cool, I can wait.
Look to the blog for lots of this stuff. I think it may even begin this week.
Are there any plans to create any RPGXplorer Datasets for PRPG? Being a gamer who doubles as a computer nerd, I found that RPGXplorer is an incredibly useful product and the Datasets I've found for it really make it a useful resource.
What is the best way to support this release? Should I pre order, buy it online after it comes out, buy it from my local gaming shop or get it from a con? Does it make any difference? I want to do my bit in making it the greatest release ever!!!!
What is the best way to support this release? Should I pre order, buy it online after it comes out, buy it from my local gaming shop or get it from a con? Does it make any difference? I want to do my bit in making it the greatest release ever!!!!
[Sarc]buy a copy each place[/Sarc]
Seriously, buy it where ever, but if you have a FLGS, I'd say offer to run some demo games. Bonus if you use some of their 3pp or Paizo d20 stuff to show the people playing (and the FLGS) that there's still a market and a viable game system for stuff that's not 4e.
What is the best way to support this release? Should I pre order, buy it online after it comes out, buy it from my local gaming shop or get it from a con? Does it make any difference? I want to do my bit in making it the greatest release ever!!!!
[Sarc]buy a copy each place[/Sarc]
Seriously, buy it where ever, but if you have a FLGS, I'd say offer to run some demo games. Bonus if you use some of their 3pp or Paizo d20 stuff to show the people playing (and the FLGS) that there's still a market and a viable game system for stuff that's not 4e.
My FLGS doesn't stock Paizo's products, but I'm personally trying to change that (all the other local GMs order directly from Paizo, I believe). I chat with staff and other customers, and I hoping the word spreads, because 4E isn't selling here (apparently it sells less than 3E products ever did).
I'm really looking forward to this and I think they did a great job. Especially great job on Wizards. Pathfinder and 3.5+ is so much better than D&DV4. Great work Pathfinder, I'll be one of the first to purchase.
That's not snark, mind you. I just want to see the final version of the rules and start implementing them asap. I've been using Alphas and then Beta for a long time now, and would settle down with the finished product at last.