I've been hearing a LOT of good stuff about Pathfinder. My most reliable source is a guy whose initial opinion of the system was "Looks overly complicated" only to come back later and state "It's like the good bits of 3.5 with the good bits of 4.0". He gave me a brief summary of some of the changes and I liked what I heard.
Needless to say I'm contemplating to move my current 3.5 campaign to the pathfinder system. All the characters are level 4 and pretty close to levelling up right now so we're not too far into the game.
The character roster at the moment is Fighter, Wizard (Enchanter), Cleric and Rogue. Using only material from the source books and the Eberron Campaign Setting.
Is this conversion possible?
How easy it is?
Any particular issues I need to consider?
I don't have the rulebook yet as I just placed the order for it yesterday. Hopefully it will arrive before the end of next week.
Well... until you get the books, the Pathfinder Reference Document should tide you over.
As for conversion...
The free conversion document should help as well...
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I've been hearing a LOT of good stuff about Pathfinder. My most reliable source is a guy whose initial opinion of the system was "Looks overly complicated" only to come back later and state "It's like the good bits of 3.5 with the good bits of 4.0". He gave me a brief summary of some of the changes and I liked what I heard.
Needless to say I'm contemplating to move my current 3.5 campaign to the pathfinder system. All the characters are level 4 and pretty close to levelling up right now so we're not too far into the game.
The character roster at the moment is Fighter, Wizard (Enchanter), Cleric and Rogue. Using only material from the source books and the Eberron Campaign Setting.
Is this conversion possible?
How easy it is?
Any particular issues I need to consider?I don't have the rulebook yet as I just placed the order for it yesterday. Hopefully it will arrive before the end of next week.
It's fairly easy to convert as mostly it's a case of adding things to classes. Be warned, several spells have changed radically, epsecially save or die ones. Be careful as well as some of the little changes will tend to trip you up.
There's a free conversion document and the Pathfinder Reference Document (PRD) that should give you an idea.
EDIT: Ninja'ed
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First, congrats for considering the switch! I can't reccomend that you do highly enough! 3.5 is a great system and Pathfinder really is, at it's heart, 3.5 but tweaked and enhanced to be even better.
Converting is pretty easy and strait forward. Paizo even offers a free conversion PDF that can be a big help - have you checked it out yet?
I know very little about Eberon, so I can't offer much insight there. You may need to do a bit of work, such as on non core races like the Warforged, but other than that I don't think you will have any issues.
I'm sure there are Eberon folks here on these boards that can help you.
Bottom line ... make the switch to Pathfinder. I'm confident you'll be glad you did!
Conversion is very simple (particularly as Paul said, because you're adding things. I do it on the fly every week when running a 3.5 Adventure Path (when any change is necessary that is). For example:
Your Fighter will get two new abilities (Bravery and Armor Training +1), and also Weapon Training when he levels. That's the total of the changes to the class + some feat changes. 4 Favored class points to assign to hit points or skill points.
Your Enchanter will get a +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks, Dazing touch (daze an opponent automatically), and the choice of familiar or bonded item. He won't need the Concentration skill anymore if he has it (based on Level+Int check now, for wizards). 5 extra hit-points for d6 hit-points now, and 4 favored class points. That's it.
Your Cleric's domain powers will be different (better in most cases), and he'll have channel energy (heal living creatures in 30' or harm undead in 30') instead of turning undead. If he still wants to turn, he can select Turn Undead at 5th level (which now gives a feat). 4 favored class points. That's all.
Your Rogue picks up two rogue talents of his choice (similar to the 10th level+ "special abilities". 5 extra hit-points for d8 hit-points now, and 4 favored class points. That's everything, except he can sneak attack most creatures now.
Other classes could have been slightly more complicated, but you've got the classic group :)
The only change that might cause real issues is that clerics lost Heavy Armor proficiency. Easily fixed with one of the extra feats the characters gain over time, but if your cleric is a battle cleric he may be tripped up by that.
Actually, since you are converting you might consider just giving it to him as a bonus feat if he currently wears plate.
There are a lot of improvements to the system in 3.5. However note that no system is perfect, and not all attempts to improve succeed.
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As far as "switching" to Pathfinder, that's analogous to "switching" to 3.5 Unearthed Arcana; it even states in the forward to use which parts you like and leave the rest behind if that doesn't suit your needs.
That being said, after starting a new campaign recently my gaming group has stuck with all of the changes so far, and we are enjoying ourselves immensely! It is definitely refreshing to work with a new system after playing the same game for the past 10 years (we are all boycotting 4E as not one person in our gaming group liked it whatsoever).
Conversion, while a wee bit tricky sometimes for non-core classes like the Binder or some monsters not in the Bestiary, isn't overly complicated, and if you've got a balance-minded DM I don't foresee problems with switching over with a low-level party. There are some good current and archived forum topics for some community-suggested coversions for classes not in the Core Rulebook and some really good ones in PF-compatible 3rd-party supplements, so the most important difference I see between 4E and Pathfinder is that those shelves full of 3rd and 3.5 books will not go to waste if you choose to use Pathfinder, whereas with 4E anything not "fluff" is a very expensive paperweight.
Go for it, leap, do it and don't look back. You won't be sorry.
I HIGHLY recommend the switch from 3.5 to Pathfinder! I considered the move as well and finally made the switch last Christmas (2009) and have never looked back. When WotC released the *shudder* "4th Edition" version of Dungeons and Dragons, I considered it the end of an era. Im not quite sure what 4th edition is but it definitely isnt D&D :(
It was because of this "brilliant" move by WotC that pushed me to the Pathfinder switch. Once I delved into the world of Golarion...well it was like coming home again. The system and game that I had loved and grown up with was back! Now, granted, it is going to take some time getting used to the new campaign settings but I really LOVE the rules and game play with the OGL mechanics. The best thing about the new PFRPG is that they have taken the 3.5 rules, cleaned them up and streamlined them making it soooooo much better.
I have heard a few people complain that the PFRPG core rulebook was too costly ($49.99). However, when you stop to consider that the Corebook contains basically the PHB and the DMG in one handy volume, well its worth the price especially for convenience sake.
I had intended on purchasing the PFRPG Chronicles, for the official campaign setting but found out last night that they are re-releasing the Chronicles with more pages, updated material and desgined specifically for the PFRPG and not a 3rd party 3.5 ruleset like the original Chronicles was. AND it is still the same price :)
I saw an advertisement in a magazine for Pathfinder RPG that says it the best. It was a picture of the Core Rulebook cover. At the top of the page under the Pathfinder logo it read "3.5 Lives!" However, "lives" had been crossed through with a red slash and replaced with the word "thrives!" As Stan Lee would say...'nuff said!
Thanks for your replies, guys! (and girls?)
If you're using any non-Core 3.5 material, make sure to remember to convert feats, Domains, etc. I forgot to convert the Cleric's two non-core Domains (since they work a bit differently in Pathfinder) for the first session, but that's take care of now.
I'm basically using the core rulebooks exclusively except for monsters (which I pick a little from everywhere). I heard about some spells removed from the cleric, though... My cleric really likes his Sound Blast. I hope it's not gone :O
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Thanks for your replies, guys! (and girls?)
If you're using any non-Core 3.5 material, make sure to remember to convert feats, Domains, etc. I forgot to convert the Cleric's two non-core Domains (since they work a bit differently in Pathfinder) for the first session, but that's take care of now.I'm basically using the core rulebooks exclusively except for monsters (which I pick a little from everywhere). I heard about some spells removed from the cleric, though... My cleric really likes his Sound Blast. I hope it's not gone :O
If you mean Sound Burst, it's still a 2nd level Cleric spell.
I've been running 3.5 campaigns for years, but now I'm hooked on Pathinder. My next campaign will be PaizoPaizoPaizo (Kingmaker, can't wait!)
Ganryu: DOO EET!
Welcome to the boards! You might want to have a cup of coffee or a glass of milk handy for when the cookies come.
Not adding much here, but when I found Pathfinder at GenCon last year, it restored my hope in the direction the gaming world was taking. If you like 3.5, you'll LOVE Pathfinder, just like me and my players do :)
For Eberron I have done some work on the races, the PDF for it is here. It's relatively easy to switch, and at that level your players will not have any issues I would not have thought.
The most important piece of advice I can give is also the simplest. Read the Core Rules from cover to cover, as if you had never played 3.5. Pathfinder, while based on 3.5, really is its own game. There are a lot of subtle changes that can greatly affect game play.
Edit: And there are some not so subtle ones that may seem shocking (Unlimited detect magic spells?! Shocking!), but that you really should play with before you reject. Paizo did a good job on PF. Give their ruleset a try. You'll be glad you did.
I would say convert the game. No doubt.
Let the players rebuild their current characters when they hit level 5. This will be nice because they get a feat they would not get until 6th level in 3.5. Their characters will be a bit more powerful, and have a few new tricks, feat options and abilities.
Once you do convert, make it 100%, because there are some differences that could become a problem for players using half and half rules. As a GM however, there are almost no problems using 3.5 materials in your campaigns.
Just a couple of additional things:
Loads more feats to choose from!
Poison is done differently now. It can be real nasty.
Grapple is different, and size isn't as big an issue.
Giants are now humanoids (subtype- giant) and thus "persons".
Prestige classes have been improved greatly.
Monks, bards, paladins, and sorcerers have a few new toys. Higher level fighters rangers and barbarians also have more options.
Druid wildshape ability and polymorh type spells have been simplified and brought under control.
I'm so excited by Pathfinder and the stuff that Paizo is putting out. You guys are doing everything right.
Just to point out: The rules for pathfinder are open and free online in several places too. So before you go shell out the money for books you might decide you don't want you should probably hit up the pfsrd20.org people to look over the changes.
This is one of the things that I would like from 4e honestly -- a chance to actually see if I like what they got without having to kick in the money for the books (not starting on the 4e hate, I'm giving it a try with a local group... it's just hard not having access to the books to try and answer my own questions).
Welcome to Pathfinder!
I'd say go for it!
I'm basically using the core rulebooks exclusively except for monsters (which I pick a little from everywhere). I heard about some spells removed from the cleric, though... My cleric really likes his Sound Blast. I hope it's not gone :O
I cannot think of anything right now that has been taken from the spell lists. The non-core stuff hasn't been converted along with the core rules, of course, because they're not open content and thus cannot be touched officially - but you can still use that stuff.
Note that some spells have been adjusted.
Clerics will note that their favourite "become better fighters than fighters spell" have become weaker - though the change was necessary because they were just too good, and things are easier to manage now!
Look at the changes of divine power, which no longer changes your BAB but gives a bonus to attacks (which doesn't stack with divine favour) and an extra attack (which doesn't stack with haste). So the pure martial power of clerics has gone down. On the other hand, their turn undead ability has transformed into channel energy, which is actually useful - not only against undead (the old one was mainly to mop the floor with masses of weak undead - which the new one is good enough at, too, except that this one works against more powerful undead, too, since it does damage), but also for the living (as it heals now!)
I think all in all there are a handful of instances where things are actually gone now (skill synergies, one or two bardic music abilities that weren't necessary, anyway, and familiars for most sorcerers. That's all I can think of right now), but tons of things have been added.
To highlight what will change for your party ("Fighter, Wizard (Enchanter), Cleric and Rogue.")
Plus, the rogue and wizard will get some extra HP, most classes will get extra skill points (thanks to the new favoured class rules and the consolidation of skills which means you pay less for the same), everyone will get more feats, and since the classes are more powerful now, that means more goodies for everyone too.
They will need the help, since monsters pull their weight now... }>
Just to point out: The rules for pathfinder are open and free online in several places too. So before you go shell out the money for books you might decide you don't want you should probably hit up the pfsrd20.org people to look over the changes.
To expand on that: the official Pathfinder Reference Document (<-- that's a link, by the way), contains basically everything from the core rules (the sole exception is the list of deities, but you probably use your own pantheon, anyway). Unlike 3e's SRD, which didn't include XP tables, rules for creating characters, and a number of other things, this one is complete!
Well, one big thing is missing: The art. And Pathfinder art is gorgeous. You can look at some of it on the blog - or, if you get the books, you get it all.
Speaking of books: If you like PDFs, the Core Rulebook and the Bestiary only cost 10 dollars each.
This is one of the things that I would like from 4e honestly -- a chance to actually see if I like what they got without having to kick in the money for the books (not starting on the 4e hate, I'm giving it a try with a local group... it's just hard not having access to the books to try and answer my own questions).
You can always walk into a store and look at the books there. But free sources like this aren't exactly the norm. Paizo is just exceedingly nice to make everything rules-related open (sure, they're required to do this due to the OGL in many cases, but they could do it a lot less.)
One of my main players was looking over the PFRPG conversion document (so nicely linked to earlier in this thread) and boy is he EXCITED! We haven't done any real gaming in, well, years. So now *I* gotta get crackin' and catch up on the changes. Especially since there's some rotten nastiness I want to pull in from CWar and Heroes of Battle.
This does throw a wrinkle into a project I was starting, but I'm still early in the efforts and can make the Pathfinder adjustments fairly easily.
This is one of the things that I would like from 4e honestly -- a chance to actually see if I like what they got without having to kick in the money for the books (not starting on the 4e hate, I'm giving it a try with a local group... it's just hard not having access to the books to try and answer my own questions).You can always walk into a store and look at the books there. But free sources like this aren't exactly the norm. Paizo is just exceedingly nice to make everything rules-related open (sure, they're required to do this due to the OGL in many cases, but they could do it a lot less.)
Oh I'm aware of both points, I'm just putting it out there, that it's slowing the remote chance of me even getting to the point of considering it. I know that what paizo does is a rare thing -- just another reason to like it really -- but when you want to be the standard setter you could to stay caught up with the standard you set... (imo anyways)
come, luke, join the dark side
Converting isn't too hard for most characters. I have to agree though, trying to slowly get into pathfinder isn't a good way to go.
Something you really need to note is XP changes. you need a different amount to level, and you now get an amount of XP based only on the CR, not it's CR vs. your ECL on a chart. When you kill a standard CR 1/2 zombie, you will get 200XP no matter if your level 1 or level 20.
A lot of feats and spells had minor changes you'll need to look up as well.
Multiclassing is also less appealing now than it ever was in 3.5, thus making it a more difficult choice on weather or not you take a prestige class.
I would recommend letting them re-build there character a little while still remaining true to who they were suppose to be.
Well, one big thing is missing: The art. And Pathfinder art is gorgeous. You can look at some of it on the blog - or, if you get the books, you get it all.
I honestly don't understand why everyone talks so much over the pathfinder art. Personally I enjoyed the 3.5 art in the PH more, especially when it comes to the gear. Sure you get more color now, but color =/= better imho.
Directly copy/pasted from my super quick conversion sheet that I keep near my screen at all times (basically a summary from the conversion guide pdf)
Pathfinder Quick Conversion Summary
Race/Class - Ability Changes
Skills - Note Max Rank/HD
Feats - Above 6th (gain 1 feat), Above 13th (gain 2 feats), Above 18th (gain 3 feats)
XP - Use fast progression
Monsters
Monstrous Humanoids and Outsiders gain 1hp per HD.
Oozes lose 1hp per HD.
Undead lose 2hp per HD.
Intelligent Undead gain CHA bonus to hp and Fort saves.
Constructs gain +1 to attack, CMB, and CMD (+2 at 5th, +3 at 9th, +4 at 13th etc).
Undead gain +1 to attack, CMB, and CMD (+2 at 3rd, +3 at 7th, +4 at 11th etc).
Calculate CMB/CMD - Creatures with Improved Grab gain +4 bonus to grapple.
CMB = base attack bonus + Str modifier+ special size modifier
CMD = 10 + base attack bonus + Str modifier+ Dex modifier + special size modifier
Constructs, Plants, and most Undead no longer immune to Critical hits.
Elementals, Incorporeal Undead and Oozes are still immune to Critical hits.
Creatures that drained levels now bestow permanent Negative Levels.
Poison Frequencies and Effects
Max 3.5 Damage Frequency Effect
1–7 Max Damage 1 damage
8–14 Max Damage/2 1d2 damage
15–23 Max Damage/3 1d3 damage
24–35 Max Damage/4 1d4 damage
36+ Max Damage/6 1d6 damage
btw... for skills I mostly wing it. If a creature had say +8 to Hide (3.5), it would be +8 to stealth in PF, etc.
Fighters get a bonus to hit and damage and some situational fighter-only feats, while combat maneuvers now take two-three feats instead of just one and either autosucceed or usually fail depending on how you interpret the vaguely-worded rules.
Um, having seen a Pathfinder grappler in action, I feel compelled to disagree with your assessment of the combat maneuvers - although the offensive bonus is limited to +2 initially, it applies to both attack and defence, so they still keep a net +4 against a foe without the feat. Seeing the new system in action ... it works, and it works well. The maneuver feats needed to be broken down to stop the specialists dominating, especially at low level.
Bad news: Pretty much every way of sneak attacking at range has been nerfed into the ground. Blink doesn't work, invisibility explicitly doesn't work past the first attack, stealth is completely screwed up, etc.
I'm sorry, but I don't see where the ranged bit is nerfed; the text on sneak attack is the same as regards ranged - that you have to be within thirty feet. Invisibility not working past the first attack is a no-brainer, and I never did get why blink was so amazing anyway.
Sneak attack working on more types of creatures and losing a little on some of the situational advantages sounds like a net gain to me - most of the time it was used from flanking or in surprise situations anyway.
Because it let you make sneak attacks with all of your attacks. Every method to make sneak attacks with all of your iterative attacks at range except Improved Invisibility was dismantled, since early PF beta. If you got sneak attack by tumbling into position and flanking...well, okay, you did get nerfed, because tumble now has DCs based on the CMD of the target, which are often Much Higher than your Acrobatics mod.The better you understood rogues in 3.5, the worse off you are in PF.
The question i have is whats the net gain/loss for the rogue changes? It is harder to get into position/set up a sneak attack. That is definately true, and it now favors melee more then it did in 3.5. But the pathfinder rogue also has more hitpoints, (so being in melee is not as dangerous but still is risky ofcourse), and his sneak attack applies to far more targets. So what is the net gain for the rogue do you think? Personally I think they improved, if only because now even if it's harder at least you have a chance to get sneak attack against most enemies, and have something to work for in the combat.
I'm sorry, but I don't see where the ranged bit is nerfed; the text on sneak attack is the same as regards ranged - that you have to be within thirty feet. Invisibility not working past the first attack is a no-brainer, and I never did get why blink was so amazing anyway.Because it let you make sneak attacks with all of your attacks. Every method to make sneak attacks with all of your iterative attacks at range except Improved Invisibility was dismantled, since early PF beta. If you got sneak attack by tumbling into position and flanking...well, okay, you did get nerfed, because tumble now has DCs based on the CMD of the target, which are often Much Higher than your Acrobatics mod.
The better you understood rogues in 3.5, the worse off you are in PF.
Ok, maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see anything in the 3.5 Blink text that says it denies your opponents of their Dex bonus. I'm guessing this is based off of some wonky interpretation of the 'semi-invisibility' effect from the spell? Sorry, your foe can see where you are. A 50% miss chance does not equate to flat-footedness. So, unless there is something else, Blink never should have given Sneak Attack dice on all attacks.
Do you play with "Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects" to mean your full attack bonus from everything? Then sure, the specialists are just going to make a joke of the defenses of anything but... random outsiders, which have inexplicably high CMDs as a quirk of the system.
No, I just watched a 1st level grappling fighter tie a 4th level fighter in knots twice in a row, and sure, you will get bonuses from buffs and the like added, not that these were used at all in that instance. I know that in usefulness grappling and other maneuvers are limited anyway, that's the way it works.
Because it let you make sneak attacks with all of your attacks. Every method to make sneak attacks with all of your iterative attacks at range except Improved Invisibility was dismantled, since early PF beta. If you got sneak attack by tumbling into position and flanking...well, okay, you did get nerfed, because tumble now has DCs based on the CMD of the target, which are often Much Higher than your Acrobatics mod.
The better you understood rogues in 3.5, the worse off you are in PF.
I get that they nerfed blink, that's not a nerf on sneak attack. Not many rogues could cast the spell anyway.
Iterative attacks at range, I can understand, because after anyone gets hit once they are going to be aware they are under attack and will be moving - that's another no-brainer.
Tumble being based on the CMD of the target makes sense to me and means that all of a sudden mobility became a desirable feat again, really. If you want to pull that one off, Skill Focus likewise becomes attractive. It's harder, not impossible, it depends on what you are fighting.
On the subject of Stealth ... huh? To my mind, sneaking is now on one Stealth vs Perception check rather than a Hide vs Spot check followed by a Move Silently vs Listen check, which is far more in the rogue's favour. Hardly a train wreck, frankly.
I understand rogues fine, what you are highlighting are changes in the system and some no-brainer rulings that most DMs likely would have made anyway rather than specific nerfs on rogues. Yes, they effect rogues, but not to a huge extent.
So even with these tactical issues, rogues do get more hit points, sneak attack effects more things, their skills go much further, they get some neat talents ... I'd say they come out winners.
Let's see. I'm resisting bullet points to avoid the tendency to count them, especially since some of them are small. More HP, sneak attack on undead/constructs, Hide/MS is one skill, Spot/Listen is one skill, Tumble comes with a ton of other abilities, rogue talents, str/dex boosts and weapon proficiencies are easier to come by from races. You can't sneak attack with flasks, tumbling fails a lot, you can't sneak attack with Blink, invisibility means you can sneak past things with keen ears now, the stealth/perception rules are a complete trainwreck. Feinting works somewhat better in PF but it's a trap anyway.
I find there are more ways now for you to get sneak attack, especially without spells. Feinting works now to get sneak every other round as a full attack. Shattered Defenses allows for a different build. Both of these work well with a group and give your allies bonuses.
As for stealth, I have no idea what your problem with the rules for it are. They are clear and consise to me. And they added new abilities to stealth while sniping and use bluff to allow stealth checks, great additions.
I'm so glad they fixed tumble. I can't count the number of times I saw angry players because the rules didn't scale with level. Now I'm glad its not mostly auto-succeed.
Holy Thread-Jacking, Batman!!!™
Pathfinder is a slightly simpler, more versatile version of 3.5. A lot of things became standardized (comabt maneuvers like grapple, disarm, bull rush, sunder, trip, etc.), skills are consolidated, and now the order in which you pick skills doesn't matter--of particular importance for multi-classed characters.
Holy Thread-Jacking, Batman!!!™Since my point is that there's lots of tiny changes to accommodate, it may not be wise to switch mid-campaign. Who wants to tell a player, "Sorry, man, tumbling doesn't work for that any more. You need to take Mobility"?
I agree, your pointing out little differences that might or might not make a difference to someone looking at a switch.
Also worth mentioning, the tone down of druid wild shape (its just a bonus now so no strenght 8 druids kicking ass at combat anymore). Certain cleric combat buffs have also been toned down some. If a player is playing either of these it will significantly impact them in a switch between systems.
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I think it's probably a good idea to pull this thread back on track a bit. The original poster was asking if converting from 3.5 to Pathfinder was very difficult and if there are any big issues to watch out for.
While it certainly might be interesting to some, I don't know that this level of minute detail (and, as is often the case when certain people jump into threads ... budding arguments) is helpful to the original poster.
All I am suggesting is that maybe it might be a good idea to get back to the general spirit of the original poster's question. If someone wants to, yet again, start arguing about one or two specific points concerning rules details, maybe a separate thread would be in order ...
I think it's probably a good idea to pull this thread back on track a bit. The original poster was asking if converting from 3.5 to Pathfinder was very difficult and if there are any big issues to watch out for.
While it certainly might be interesting to some, I don't know that this level of minute detail (and, as is often the case when certain people jump into threads ... budding arguments) is helpful to the original poster.
All I am suggesting is that maybe it might be a good idea to get back to the general spirit of the original poster's question. If someone wants to, yet again, start arguing about one or two specific points concerning rules details, maybe a separate thread would be in order ...
Agreed.
To the OP, the conversion is fairly simple. My advice is talk to your players an show them some of the class differences, streamlined skills, etc and get their input before making your decision.
Alot of the advantages of pathfinder has been expressed already, including going back to a core ruleset. As conversions are never easy, I would agree to just start from the beginning again. You can use alot of flavor from pre-existing 3.5 books, and update 3.5 source material once you have experienced a few pathfinder levels to note the changes.
But if you are starting from the beginning and are not afraid of trying something new, then 4E did continue the eberron setting, and even after reading what people don't like about it, the system can stand on its own and is fun to play. But you will loose out on the majority of feats and other mechanics offered by 3.5 books.
Finding a computer character tool will definitely help with you endeavors which ever direction you choose.
All I am suggesting is that maybe it might be a good idea to get back to the general spirit of the original poster's question. If someone wants to, yet again, start arguing about one or two specific points concerning rules details, maybe a separate thread would be in order ...
Consider not the details, but the whole. If you find yourself absorbed in any of these specific debates, switching mid-campaign is going to be a minefield of "Wait, how did that change?"
Did I mention that it's harder to disarm or grapple demons than giants now? Or that giants can all be affected by those low-level humanoid-only save-or-dies? Or that dex is now really important for fighters? Changes like this break down system mastery, even when they're objectively good changes. Take the cheerleading of this thread with a large grain of salt, especially the parts about "such-and-such class is stronger!" because not all of the changes are documented or obvious.
Finish this game, then come back to PF. It's not going anywhere.
I disagree. There is no real reason to wait if you want to do it. There is going to be a learning curve no matter what. There are many minor changes, but correcting them on the fly or using a mix of 3.5 and pathfinder because you don't know there was a change isn't that big a deal. Combat manuevers are the big change for melee. Your still low level so the spell differences wont be that bad. I think most of the players will find something they like about their characters now.