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OGL means the product was created under the Open Game Licence (OGL). PFRPG means the product is created using the Pathfinder RPG rules (PFRPG)and is fully compatible with the Pathfinder RPG.
The Pathfinder RPG (and the Beginner Box version of the Pathfinder RPG) was created under the OGL.
If something says OGL instead of PFRPG, it basically means the product was created under the Open Game Licence but does not specifically use the Pathfinder RPG rules. Adventures created for D&D Third Edition are perfect examples of an OGL (but not PFRPG) product. An OGL product should still work using the Pathfinder RPG but you will need to do some conversion.
Does that help?
OGL is the Open Game License. It's not rules. It's a license that let's you use some content of that product in your own product.
If you're just a gamer looking to play, ignore OGL. It has nothing to do with playing.
If i buy: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook (OGL), will i then be set for using booth OGL and PFRPG products?
I like to have my rules in hardcover book and not on some printed foils only.
OGL products will work with Pathfinder, but they will take some conversion. Its like buying an a lamp in England and trying to plug it in in America. You'll need a converter to use it, but it can be done. However, it would be better if you bought the lamp (or the closest you can find) in America.
In the same way, it is typically best to go with something written natively for Pathfinder.
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The majority of the rules for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition was released as Open Game Content (OGC) using the Open Game Licence (OGL). Paizo originally wrote adventures and setting material for D&D 3rd Edition under a brand they called Pathfinder.
When D&D 3rd edition was superceded by 4th edition Paizo took those rules available to them under the OGL, made some changes and created the Pathfinder RPG. The Pathfinder RPG system is very similar to, but not the same as D&D 3rd edition.
In their store Paizo use the term OGL to indicate that a product was written was D&D 3rd Edition, and uses PFRPG to indicate that a produce was written for the Pathfinder RPG.
This is a little confusing as most of the content of the Pathfinder RPG and many of its books is also released under the OGL.
The Open Game License (OGL) rules are the basic ruleset for Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition, revised ("D&D 3.5"). The ruleset is open content, meaning other publishers can use the rules in their own products.
Paizo products listed as OGL use the basic OGL ruleset. These products were all published prior to 2009.
The Pathfinder Role-Playing Game (PFRPG) uses its own distinctive ruleset that is based on the OGL. The PFRPG rules are themselves open content, and are mostly compatible with the original OGL rules.
The two share the same basic mechanic (roll 1d20, add your modifiers, try to beat a target number to succeed), but there are subtle and not-so-subtle differences. You can diretly use OGL products with PFRPG games, but not everything matches up exactly right. If you're running an OGL adventure, for example, you should beef up the monsters' hit points a bit, and some monster abilities work a bit differently.
So--
OGL products are written for the D&D 3.5 ruleset.
PFRPG products are written for the Pathfinder RPG ruleset.
The Pathfinder Core Rulebook is the basic rulebook for the PFRPG ruleset. It is the equivalent of the D&D 3.5 Players Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide put together.
In other words:
If it says OGL, it was written for "the 3.5e version of the rules" (aka D&D 3.5e, but they can't say D&D for legal reasons).
If it says PFRPG, it was written for the Pathfinder RPG rules.
The exceptions to this are the books in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rulebook line: the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and all the other rulebooks like Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player's Guide all say they are OGL. It IS the PFRPG rules though.
Supplements (modules, campaign setting, adventure paths, etc) say PFRPG, but the core rules still specify OGL. If you read the product descriptions it is made clear that they're for Pathfinder RPG though.
Basically, if it says Pathfinder Roleplaying Game in the title of the product and it says OGL in the parentheses, it's for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. But if it doesn't say the whole phrase "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game" in the title and it says OGL in the parentheses, it's for OGL 3.5e, which is a way of getting around saying it was for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5e. If it doesn't say "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game" in the title, it has to say PFRPG in parenthesis to distinguish it from a 3.5e product.
Does that help?
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OGL = All games built on the 3.5 D&D Rules.
I just want to clarify something really quickly. A product being released under the OGL in no way specifies that it is necessarily build on the 3.5 system, or any of its derivatives. The OGL can be used for any gaming product that uses terminology from the SRD, or one that the creators want to make freely available as OGC (open gaming content). For example, retro-clones such as OSRIC and Swords & Wizardry are also released under the OGL, as are other games that have no basis in the d20 system like Mongoose Traveller or the Wanton Role-Playing (WaRP) system. The OGL is NOT a rules set, it is a legal appendix stating how the rules set it is attached to can be professionally used.