Pathfinder Core Rulebook

4.60/5 (based on 31 ratings)
Pathfinder Core Rulebook
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Advance Your Game

This comprehensive 640-page guide to the Pathfinder roleplaying game provides everything you need to set out into a world of limitless fantasy adventure! Choose from ancestries like elf, human, and goblin and classes like alchemist, fighter, and sorcerer to create a hero of your own design, destined to become a legend! The new Pathfinder rules are easier to learn and faster to play, and they offer deeper customization than ever before!

This indispensable volume contains the core rules for players and Game Masters, and is your first step on a heroic new journey!

The Pathfinder Core Rulebook includes:

  • More than 600 pages of game rules, advice, character options, treasure, and more for players and Game Masters!
  • Six heroic player character ancestries, including elf, dwarf, gnome, goblin, halfling, and human, with variant heritages for half-elf and half-orc!
  • More than 30 backgrounds like bartender, soldier, or apprentice to further immerse yourself in your hero's backstory!
  • Twelve character classes, including the alchemist, barbarian, bard, champion, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, and wizard!
  • Hundreds and hundreds of spells, class feats, and other exciting abilities to help you customize your character to become the hero YOU envision her to be!
  • Streamlined and revised rules to help ease new players into the game while providing the depth of character options and tactical interest that have defined Pathfinder from the beginning!

Written by: Logan Bonner, Jason Bulmahn, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, and Mark Seifter

ISBN: 978-1-64078-168-9



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Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
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Pathfinder Nexus on Demiplane
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SoundSet on Syrinscape
Archives of Nethys

Errata
Last Updated - 11/9/2020

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Rulebook Subscription.

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This is still Pathfinder

5/5

Pathfinder 2 is a fun and faithful evolution to Pathfinder 1. It still has the same feel and familiarity. While I like both systems, I’ve played Pathfinder 2 for the past 5 years and it’s my preferred system.

The best parts of Pathfinder 2 are three action rounds, the condensed skill list, and how easy it is to make and modify characters, while still allowing for many different character builds and options. It’s also easier to make an effective character, and more difficult to make a character that's better than everyone else's. Multi-classing is brilliant and balanced.

Monsters in PF2 are improved and have unique abilities. It helps to make fights different from each other and interesting. The math around PF2 also makes it very easy to build encounters of various difficulties, which is great for homebrew GMs.

Most players will appreciate how easy it is to make a character that has meaningful choices at every level. PF2 should be popular with D&D 5E players that want less generic characters. However, some players in Pathfinder 1 liked to spend hours on their character, looking through splatbooks, looking for ways to make the ultimate character. For these players, they might not like the simplicity of PF2.

PF2 also cleaned up a lot of rules, which makes it easier to play. High level play also scales really well, with fast play, and isn't a burden on the GM, which is a real accomplishment.

It's not all good however. I didn’t like that PF2 nerfed the classes that were too strong in PF1 (alchemist, monk archetypes, spellcasters, gunslingers) and made weak classes in PF1 too strong (rogues, barbarians, fighters). Spellcasters are further nerfed in the sense that they no longer have a niche. Most magical problems in PF2 can be solved with skills that any character can easily attain. The only nerf that was good was that ranged martials are no longer overpowered.

The real failing in PF2 is that there’s too much variation in the damage output between martials and spellcasters. Spellcasters, even with cantrips, do 50% or less damage compared to martials, and it gets worse at higher levels. Spellcasters claim to fame is basically fireball. I could write an essay, but the main problem is the game nerfed the utility of most spellcasters, spellcasters don’t have the same attack modifiers as martials (less hits/crits), and spells do less damage yet take 2 actions. Except for cantrips, spells no longer improve as you level up, so the only spells that are viable are your highest spell level, which is only 3 spells, which is NOT good enough for a typical adventure day.

At one time, spellcasters were "glass cannons" (less AC, HP, saves, perception) but now they do less damage, so they are just glass. At high level tables, if I see we have more than 2 spellcasters, I know we’re in trouble. Those casters are almost always clerics, because clerics get free heals at their highest level, effectively doubling their spell pool.

The Core rulebook, while big and unwieldy, is one of the best purchases in the RPG market. The book itself is presented and explained very well, and is a joy to read.

Pathfinder 2 is my favorite game and I love it, but I really think spellcasters need some love in the future.




Solid foundations

5/5

Replaced by the Player Core and GM Core series. My favorite TTRPG had a great beginning with this book.


5/5

In my opinion - one of, if not, the best system.




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Silver Crusade

Yay!

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

In the Equipment section a "lesser potion of healing" costs 3 gold, in the treasure & magical items section it costs 4 gold. Which one is right?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Marco Massoudi wrote:
In the Equipment section a "lesser potion of healing" costs 3 gold, in the treasure & magical items section it costs 4 gold. Which one is right?

1 gp is not a big deal. But this is not 1st edition. I like the silver based system myself. I would use the higher of the two. I like healing to take more effort. Another idea would be see what other potions of that level cost and match it up. Wait for a second printing in order for them to fix all this stuff.


Anyone know what time it becomes available? Midnight or in the morning?


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Raiderrpg wrote:
Anyone know what time it becomes available? Midnight or in the morning?

I think that I read somewhere on the board that 10:00AM Eastern US time, as that is when Gen Con opens its doors.

Sovereign Court

PDF available yet?

Silver Crusade

10 AM EST, so 11 more hours.


Just over 9 hours to go, can't wait. Like a kid on christmas eve.


So almost 9 hours for me to get the PDF. At least I get it an hour before August 2 hits...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

So, Pathfinder 2 released officially on 1st August - so what other world shaking events occurred on this date?

1498 Christopher Columbus lands on "Isla Santa"
1732 Foundations laid for Bank of England
1785 Caroline Herschel becomes 1st woman to discover a comet
1834 Slavery abolished throughout the British Empire
1893 Henry Perky and William Ford patent Shredded Wheat
1933 National Recovery Administration (NRA) is founded
1944 Anne Frank's last diary entry
1953 Fidel Castro arrested in Cuba
1996 "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin is published

Any famous Births or Deaths on this day? But of course...

Births:
1901 Pancho Villa [Francisco Guilledo] (118)
1936 Yves Saint Laurent (83)
1942 Jerry Garcia (77)
1972 D-Von Dudley (47)

Deaths:
0030BC Mark Antony, aged 53
1903 Calamity Jane [Martha Jane Canary], aged 51

So there you go, Pathfinder 2 was released the same day that we first got A Game of Thrones.

There you go, some useful(less) trivia to make your day.


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Oh the pain! i am on flights all day today I was hoping to have the PDFs downloaded to I could read them on the plane. cest la vie


2h41m

Please hurry Father Time!

Silver Crusade

Wait, the PDF is available already? I thought it was 10, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth!


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

It sure is.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I see there is no Lite version yet, that's disappointing.


I don't know where I should report this or if it's intentional, but as of right now (7am Pacific), there's no link from the Store to the PDF.

Silver Crusade

Watery Soup wrote:
I don't know where I should report this or if it's intentional, but as of right now (7am Pacific), there's no link from the Store to the PDF.

It should be up at the top by the Review and discussion tabs.


Underneath Add PDF, there should be a clickable "(in your downloads)" once you've purchased it.

Under Product Availability, there should be another link to My Downloads.

And above the Search This Thread box on this page, there should be a Download (1) tab to click, but there's a bug that sometimes hides it in Product Discussion threads.

You can also go to My Account>Digital Content from any page.


Log out of the site and pretend you didn't know the forums existed. When you go to the website, click Store, etc - are you able to find a PDF of the CRB, or only the hard copy? I wasn't. Fortunately, I knew the forums existed and figured there'd be a direct link in here.

I'm not going to make this a capital case because, honestly, it may be intentional on Paizo's part as a business decision. And that's fine. Just wanted to point it out in case it was an oversight.

Silver Crusade

They aren't on separate pages, the PDF and hardcopy are on the same product page.

For getting here just go to homepage and scroll down just a bit and you can see the latest releases to click on.


No credit card to buy from the Paizo store and apparently shipping to Europe is delayed by 1 to 4 weeks. FML


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Watery Soup wrote:

Log out of the site and pretend you didn't know the forums existed. When you go to the website, click Store, etc - are you able to find a PDF of the CRB, or only the hard copy? I wasn't. Fortunately, I knew the forums existed and figured there'd be a direct link in here.

I'm not going to make this a capital case because, honestly, it may be intentional on Paizo's part as a business decision. And that's fine. Just wanted to point it out in case it was an oversight.

Right there. As Rysky says, they don't have separate product pages for digital and physical copies; you just click which one you want.

Media Specialist, SmiteWorks USA (Fantasy Grounds)

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Hello, all! This is now available for purchase from Fantasy Grounds or on Steam. Sync your account first to get it a discount equivalent to the PDF Price ($14.99)

Pathfinder 2 - Core Rules
Publisher: Paizo Inc.
Type: Core Rulebook
Get it on Steam


I actually hoped for way more discussion about the book's content before PDF release. But now the blog entry covered that...

Liberty's Edge

Can I buy the PDF other than as part of the ongoing subscription?


Yes, just click Add PDF at the top right of the page.

Shadow Lodge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Unsure if there is a forum for this one yet but i am totally loving this book! I see that the grey maidens feats and pirate feats didn't make it past playtest.....

Maybe they are included in the lost omens character guide???
#hopefulforRedMantis


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Whos_That wrote:

Unsure if there is a forum for this one yet but i am totally loving this book! I see that the grey maidens feats and pirate feats didn't make it past playtest.....

Maybe they are included in the lost omens character guide???
#hopefulforRedMantis

tquomins has compiled the ten archetypes in the Lost Omens World Guide from the various preview blogs:

tqomins wrote:

The list is complete!!

1) Absalom: Pathfinder Agent
2) Broken Lands: Aldori Duelist
3) Eye of Dread: Lastwall Sentry
4) Golden Road: Living Monolith
5) High Seas: Red Mantis Assassin
6) Impossible Lands: Student of Perfection
7) Mwangi Expanse: Magic Warrior
8) Old Cheliax: Hellknight Armiger
9) Saga Lands: Runescarred
10) Shining Kingdoms: Lion Blade


A 50% price increase for PF2 PDFs? Well, there goes my plan to grab the PDFs to see if the hardcovers would be worth buying and the system would be worth switching over from PF1.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Ninja in the Rye wrote:
A 50% price increase for PF2 PDFs? Well, there goes my plan to grab the PDFs to see if the hardcovers would be worth buying and the system would be worth switching over from PF1.

One price increase of $5 in ten years doesn't seem unreasonable...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Ninja in the Rye wrote:
A 50% price increase for PF2 PDFs? Well, there goes my plan to grab the PDFs to see if the hardcovers would be worth buying and the system would be worth switching over from PF1.

Also: look at 2e.aonprd.com/ for the official Pathfinder Reference Dokument website. All the content from the Core rulebook (mostly without art and in different order) and Bestiary (not complete yet, but will get Monster Art) is available for free online.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Why does the poor character on page 10 drown halfway through the river despite having beaten the swim DC (16)?


Weissrolf wrote:
Why does the poor character on page 10 drown halfway through the river despite having beaten the swim DC (16)?

I don't think he drowns. I think he only made it halfway. I presume that he either would have to turn back or try a different strategy.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

In which case this seems like an odd example to explain skill DCs to a beginner, readers should not have to "presume" anything. Why start with an ambivalent case where the reader doesn't know what happens halfway through?

Starting a rulebook with a rule example that already sparks a forum discussion (guilty as charged here) sets an unfortunate precedence. Besides that the example itself is odd with the critical success being necessary to complete the deed. Does this mean that beating the DC is not enough for skill checks anymore, but crits are needed for instant completition now?

This touches FAQ/errata territory, which it really should not being the very first beginner example of a rule.

But to be clear: No real negativity meant here, I am happy to see the 2nd edition out and eager to read through the book. Thanks to all parties involved for the hard work!


I agree that it is a confusing example. I'm just guessing what it means, myself..


The example seems to have incomplete data: table 4-4 on page 242 lists distances you achieve with one climb/swim action.
The example on page 10 doesn't include any distances, so it seems the river is wider than the character (we don't know it's speed either) can swim with a success, but narrower than the character can swim with a critical success.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

The part about the drowning begins with "Had your result been less than 16," – I see no problem there.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Playing devil's advocate here: The problem is that the most important part of the example - simple DC success - is the one that leaves you literally hanging in the water without resolve. How is this is a good first beginner example on page 10 of a rulebook?

And even a more seasoned player (myself) wondered why the critical success was needed?! Seemingly something that is explained 232 pages later and an odd case that various players likely never encountered before. Personally I never had to make that role in years of playing PF1.

The authors have my deepest respect, but they could sport a more "educational" writing style that results in more answers than questions. I had hopes that PF2 would be more precise in writing. And maybe it is, I only just began to read. But the first rule example proved to be a stumbling block already and that does everyone an unnecessary disservice.


The Druid Spellcasting description says you start with 5 cantrips, but the spells per day chart says 4. Is that i typo?


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber

Rule Error?

Fighter Dedication requirements list Strength 14, Dexterity 14 with a COMMA. Shouldn't this be an OR depending on which primary stat would have been chosen? The other Dedications are based on the primary stat and this feels like a high cost to buy in when a Fighter doesnt HAVE to have 14 or higher in both stats at creation. It's a choice to shouldn't that comma be an OR?

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Yoshua wrote:

Rule Error?

Fighter Dedication requirements list Strength 14, Dexterity 14 with a COMMA. Shouldn't this be an OR depending on which primary stat would have been chosen? The other Dedications are based on the primary stat and this feels like a high cost to buy in when a Fighter doesnt HAVE to have 14 or higher in both stats at creation. It's a choice to shouldn't that comma be an OR?

Not an error, Barbarian, Champion, and Monk also have dual stat requirements.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber
Rysky wrote:
Yoshua wrote:

Rule Error?

Fighter Dedication requirements list Strength 14, Dexterity 14 with a COMMA. Shouldn't this be an OR depending on which primary stat would have been chosen? The other Dedications are based on the primary stat and this feels like a high cost to buy in when a Fighter doesnt HAVE to have 14 or higher in both stats at creation. It's a choice to shouldn't that comma be an OR?

Not an error, Barbarian, Champion, and Monk also have dual stat requirements.

I see this and am asking if it is an error across the board.

Seems like a high cost to buy into a dedication.

In the beta I believe it was 16 Str or Dex

Also, it was a question for a developer, not sure you would have knowledge of what was or was not intended when it comes to errors and because of our previous encounter I wouldn't want to take what you say, or you to take what I say in any way other than the way it was intended. This was intended for someone who wrote the rules, unless you are one of those peeps and are missing the tag? Or have a link to where a dev clarified?

Thanks.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Loving all of the extra lines of flavor description in the items, hazards, and really in most everything. Much appreciated!

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Please post rules questions in the Rules Questions forum.


Still on the fence about picking this up. Loving the idea that +10 or -10 also results in crit result (fun and intuitive!), not loving that there is a separate list of results for every possible action (stopping game to consult a table!).

Also, you kinda' needed three spreadsheets open to run Pathfinder combat past level 10. How unplayable does PF2 get at higher levels?

Silver Crusade

You don’t need to consult a table, the degrees of success are on each ability it’s applicable to, so you’re doing no more referencing than in 1e.

From what I’ve glimpsed combat is running a lot smoother. The rules and monster stats are up on Archives of Nethys, the official PRD if you wanna check them out :3


What does the Barbarian Animal Instinct "Deer" do? The 'CHARGE' weapon trait is not defined anywhere in Core Rulebook or Bestiary.

$80 for my deluxe CRB and it's already obsolete needing errata? :-(

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