Do y'all think there will be as much talk about the Pathfinder RPG as much as DnD 4E when it's released in August 2009? Over at ENworld, there's talk on the various forums of the "Game of the Month" which prompts a huge amount of activity on the boards. PRPG was named as one such game.
I took a few days off from the boards, just in time to field this question.
Let me answer with another question. Does it matter if the Pathfinder Core RPG Rulebook is a blockbuster in of itself?
No.
That's not what makes Paizo, Paizo.
It's great adventures, awesome campaign materials, and Adventure Paths that allow GMs with very little time to run their campaigns like Pros.. with a ton of support from the publisher.
The strength of the Sony Playstation was the software support. Not that black plastic box that sat under, or by, your TV set. The same principal applies here. Paizo is writing this new Core Book so that they can continue to tell great stories.
They didn't have to, true. But since WOTC is leaving for different shores, why not tweak the operating system that is 3.5?
I'm not saying anything negative about 4e (still on preorder here!), but there is a market for adventures that have more craftsmanship that what we see in H1, Keep on the Shadowfell.
Paizo specializes in adventures.
Do y'all think there will be as much talk about the Pathfinder RPG as much as DnD 4E when it's released in August 2009?
It depends on a couple of factors:
1. How well 4E is received.
2. How well Pathfinder does with its own promotion and products in the next 15 months.
If 4E fails to hold people's interest, I'd guess Pathfinder will be a bigger hit. If 4E fails utterly (highly unlikely), then Pathfinder could indeed be a huge hit.
If Pathfinder holds true to its core, and satisfies those who are disenchanted with the changes that 4E makes, it should do quite well.
Paizo has one advantage in that most of the best adventure writers work for them in some way. :)
Do y'all think there will be as much talk about the Pathfinder RPG as much as DnD 4E when it's released in August 2009? Over at ENworld, there's talk on the various forums of the "Game of the Month" which prompts a huge amount of activity on the boards. PRPG was named as one such game.
I think it will do just fine...for a third-party product. "Feeding frenzy" is probably overstating it.
Though I hate to make this comparison, I'm pretty sure 4E will have an impact and dominance like WoW to the pen-and-paper market.
I really doubt many people in the mainstream will ever even hear about Pathfinder.
But to the "old-school" veteran gamers, I don't really think such a thing will happen. Among this group, pathfinder could really become imensly popular, but it will still be percieved as a small but vital niche from the outside.