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
Available Formats
The Pathfinder Core Rulebook is also available as:
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.
