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Hello,
I was in my local bookstore and came across a copy of the campaign guide. I flipped through it and liked what I saw amongst the pages. I never really got to play 3.5 and am currently playing 4e but not to thrilled with it. So what Id like to know is what makes Pathfinder so great over the normal 3.5 rules and why its better than 4e.
Thanks in advance.
Arinsen
It's purely preference. I prefer Pathfinder over 3.5 because it fixed few of the things that bugged me. The minor stuff mostly like skills and grapple. I don't much care for 4E find it gets boring really quick. So PF was great. Also it was different enough to make it kind of new again. As it's something you can buy that's a bonus. Not like buying old copies of 3.5 stuff.
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hey arinson, as a person who plays in 4th ed rpga games every thursday ( not that proud of it , but i just think of it as a non-D&D minitures game)
and have followed Pathfinder for a while now (and playtested it quite a bit) I would say these are the reasons Pathfinder shines;
*in 4th ed you have to try REALLY hard to make your attacks make sense, wtf did you do to hit a foe, drag him 2oft and let an ally heal 1/4th of his life? The abilities are repetitive and inflexible.
*Pathfinder has simplified yet captured nondamaging special combat maneuvers with the use of CMB and CMD ( combat manuever bonus and combat manuever defense) now if you want to smash the enemy over the guard rail you have a user friendly way of rolling it.
*The modules are written FAR better by Paizo than by 4th ed writers. no STUPID skill challenges, just honest to god roleplaying and problem solving. + awesome plots that bring you into the game
*the skill system is much more flexible and you can define each character better with it. not every rogue with an 18 dex is going to have PRECISELY a + 11 at 5th level. Character natural talents can shine much more easily
*the list is long and the only thing a can say in favor of 4th ed is that its simple for newbs to learn.
id advise to give it a shot on the 13 of August ^^
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Sell you on Pathfinder?
The people who make it care for it (and their customers!).
Some of the best authors write material for Golarion, and their APs are just awesome. If you want to take a look, buy the PF-Core book pdf for only $9.99. That's an awesome price for 576 pages! Check it out, and get crazy :)
So what Id like to know is what makes Pathfinder so great over the normal 3.5 rules and why its better than 4e.
Before the flames:
I prefer it. I recently ran it for some people from my old group who had moved on to 4e. They said Pathfinder reminded them of all the good things from 3e, without a lot of the annoyances. Then they went back to 4e, and half of their group joined my Pathfinder game as well.
The two games are so radically different that I don't see them as competing. As far as I can tell, Pathfinder/3.5 is less concerned with balance and combat, more concerned with stories and nuance. There's still swords and gore, but you have non-combat powers and skills that you are expected to use.
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What makes it better over 3.5 isn't much. It's smoothed out a few areas, boosted the classes that needed it and nerfed/simplified some overpowerful/over complicated abilities and combos such as wildshape and turning. The big difference to 3.5 is that you can still buy it from somewhere other than eBay/second hand dealers.
Hello,
I was in my local bookstore and came across a copy of the campaign guide. I flipped through it and liked what I saw amongst the pages. I never really got to play 3.5 and am currently playing 4e but not to thrilled with it. So what Id like to know is what makes Pathfinder so great over the normal 3.5 rules and why its better than 4e.
Thanks in advance.
Arinsen
Are you talking about the Pathfinder RPG or the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting?
If you mean the RPG (which isn't available quite yet, though the beta is still there, and is a free download): Since you're not thrilled with 4e, PF might be what you need. It has all the good parts from 3.5 (minus a couple of minor things maybe), and improves on the not-so-good-parts. And a lot on the already-good-parts. It has the freedom of 3e and the coolness of Pathfinder.
What else can I say? Get the free beta. It's free. If you don't like it, delete it. The final game will be a lot like that (except it will be more complete - the beta, being a beta, is not quite complete.)
If you mean the Campaign Setting: It's a great world that supports a very broad spectrum of game styles and backgrounds. Really cool setting with really cool, well, everything.
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Hello,
I was in my local bookstore and came across a copy of the campaign guide. I flipped through it and liked what I saw amongst the pages. I never really got to play 3.5 and am currently playing 4e but not to thrilled with it. So what Id like to know is what makes Pathfinder so great over the normal 3.5 rules and why its better than 4e.
Thanks in advance.
Arinsen
Personally, there's lots of reasons for it. Before that though, realize that there's a difference between the Campaign setting (Pathfinder Chronicles/AP/Companions - these are probably about 90-95% "fluff" meaning that they can be used in any edition of D&D or even any non-D&D roleplaying game. The rules are actually separate and a way to keep 3.5 going).
My reasoning for liking Pathfinder RPG over 4e (Caveat, I've only minimally played 4e. I think only about 3-4 games in total, although I have read the PHB, PHB 2, and DMG cover to cover):
1. Classes in 3.5 (And by default, PFRPG) are more modular. You can literally create anything thematically you want to imagine with the 3.5 classes. While there are alot of choices for 4e, I still think the choices are limited.
2. It will continue to be supported in the future, this is a PFRPG comparison to 3.5. 3.5 no longer will be officially supported, and you will only be able to get third party material. While there is quite a bit of current WotC material, that you would easily be able to use for quite some time, it is still old material.
3. PFRPG fixed quite a few "problems" with 3.5 without introducing as many problems of its own. While PFRPG couldn't completely fix the problems with 3.5 (Some are just inherent to the system), it did help on many fronts such as grappling, bringing the balance of base classes closer to each other (I'm not saying they're completely balanced, but they're closer than they were before), etc.
Past that though, my best suggestion would be to either a. download the beta right now and take a look, or b. wait a few weeks and buy the PDF for the Pathfinder RPG final book. It's only $10.00, so it's not too much to feel sad about if you end up not liking the book.
Otherwise if you want to see the quality writing of Paizo and their campaign setting, I'd seriously suggest picking up a couple old APs and reading through them. If you can find it I'd suggest reading the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP. This would give a good introduction to the world of Golarion and at the same time show the kick-ass storytelling that they put together.
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So what Id like to know is what makes Pathfinder so great over the normal 3.5 rules and why its better than 4e.
Before the flames:
I prefer it. I recently ran it for some people from my old group who had moved on to 4e. They said Pathfinder reminded them of all the good things from 3e, without a lot of the annoyances. Then they went back to 4e, and half of their group joined my Pathfinder game as well.
The two games are so radically different that I don't see them as competing. As far as I can tell, Pathfinder/3.5 is less concerned with balance and combat, more concerned with stories and nuance. There's still swords and gore, but you have non-combat powers and skills that you are expected to use.
I tend to agree with this. From the playing of 4e that I've seen it's a better combat system as well as a streamlined way of storytelling by rules. That doesn't mean that I prefer it over 3.5, because I think 3.5 offers alot of customization that 4e doesn't have. The biggest gripe that I see from 3.5 (that is true) is that it takes way too long for a DM to prepare an adventure. 4e solves this very easily. That being said I think you can create a richer story / characters with 3.5, only because their stats completely conform to who they are.
That being said, that's also why I subscribe to the APs and modules. I don't have the time, nor the talent, to create adventures as good as Paizo does. So I let them do most of the work for me, then I just memorize the adventure and NPCs and go from there. My players have always loved the APs since.
RPG is the game rules (essentially setting neutral). Chronicles is a line/series of setting info for GMs. The Campaign Setting is the most comprehensive treatment of Paizo's game world, Golarion.
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ok, what is the difference between Pathfinder RPG and Pathfinder Chronicles? The Campaign guide I saw was for Pathfinder Chronicles. So I just got confuddled :)
Pathfinder RPG is the rules system.
Pathfinder Adventure Paths are monthly adventures that form a complete campaign over 6 months. They consist of 1 adventure, 1 big encounter linked to the adventure but written by a different author, and then support material for the adventure path (description of a deity, or a city or an organization, or a small gazeteer of a region).
Pathfinder Modules are standalone 32 page adventures. Usually include a new monster or two, some new magic items and a kick ass adventure. The Pact Stone Pyramid, The Hangman's Noose, Tower of the Last Baron, River into Darkness, and all sorts of other fun adventures.
Pathfinder Chronicles is setting material for DMs. This is world building information that is usually light on stat blocks and heavy on quality writing.
Pathfinder Companions is setting material that is safe for players. Contains more crunchy bits than the chronicles products, feats, traits, usually a prc or two.
The chronicles and companion stuff is 'stand alone' but their subject matter is usually linked to the current 6 month adventure path. For example, the Guide to Korvosa came out during the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path which is set in Korvosa, the guide to the Darklands came out during the Second Darkness adventure path etc..
You don't need to buy the adventure paths to make the chronicles stuff work and you don't need to buy the adventure paths to make use of the chronicles stuff. They just fit together nicely like bacon and eggs or beer and a sunny patio.
//-- edit, ninja-ed --//
ok, ya'll did a good job on selling me. Im gonna preorder my books after I write this post. Thank you again for the information.
Also, a suscription to the Pathfinder AP gives you a 15% discount after the first month of subscribing. Just FYI.
Welcome, Arinsen, you won't regret it (though your wallet might). I second the AP subscription. It's like Christmas once a month.
Be sure to check out the Final class Previews in the blog also.
Of course, if through a mishap (perpetuated by the evil post office) you're waiting to see your hard copy of #23 at the same time you get #24, then it's like the biggest Xmas eve of your life (until the RPG comes out, of course).