Someone was in love with the Find the Path spell? Someone wanted to name it like that so it could "guide" 3.5 players to it? Someone liked the movie with the same name?
Why the name "Pathfinder"? Can someone answer me this question?
BTW, no, it isn't explained in the Core Rulebook, I've checked.
At what point did they invent the Pathfinder Society organization on Golarion? If it pre-dates the current rules, then they could have named the game after the organization. Otherwise, I guess they just picked a trademark they already owned and extended it to cover the revised rule system.
The story is told in Auntie Lisa's Story Hour. Scroll down to Naming Pathfinder.
Hint: They pretty much just liked the way it sounded.
The story is told in Auntie Lisa's Story Hour. Scroll down to Naming Pathfinder.
Hint: They pretty much just liked the way it sounded.
And at that time, that name was chosen to name the Adventure Path book series, so Pathfinder was a brand-name for Adventure Paths. The name was carried forward to the game system from the successful adventure path product, which Paizo staff still state is their flagship product.
Likewise many (all?) of the GameMastery product lines (Item Cards, Flip-Mats, etc.) have been re-branded Pathfinder now, because it's the primary successful product line.
Someone liked the movie with the same name?Definitely not that one!
Well, it was a legit guess XD
Well, maybe Sean or one of the guys will pop up and explain it better, but here we go:
Back in... 2006?... Paizo lost the license to produce Dungeon, which was a monthly magazine providing adventures for D&D 3.5. But there had been so much enthusiasm among gamers for the adventures they presented in that magazine that they started a 3rd-party equivalent, Pathfinder: I don't know why they chose that particular name. Maybe because it was a magazine that provided paths for groups seeking a pre-made adventure, and linked those individual adventures into a path that could turn them into an entire campaign.
Later - about three Adventure Paths in - WotC announced the end of 3rd Edition, and the Paizo crew decided they were going to use the OGL to produce a modified version of 3.5 that could be used with pre-existing adventures. Since they had already copyrighted "Pathfinder" as a monthly adventure mag, they simply called this new game "the Pathfinder Fantasy Role-Playing Game System," naming it after the pre-existing magazines.
I admit, if they had been setting out to create an RPG system from the beginning, they would probably have chosen a different name.
This would be my guess too... Well, that and because "Pathfinder" sounds really cool!
Why not?
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Someone liked the movie with the same name?Definitely not that one!
What about this one?
I always assumed the name had something to do with adventure paths, since those have been the bread and butter of Paizo since they stopped doing Dragon and Dungeon.
it is basically just a big ripoff of this
The story is told in Auntie Lisa's Story Hour. Scroll down to Naming Pathfinder.
Hint: They pretty much just liked the way it sounded.
Did anybody notice that the picture from Wes Schneider's notebook has the word 'dork' in the second column? Could you imagine if it were called Hero Dork?
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Because Dungeons & Dragons was already taken, as was Mazes & Monsters.
It's the company car.
So if I wanted to market my own RPG, and try to imitate the name "Pathfinder" to grab people's attention, I could call my game... Explorer?
Did anybody notice that the picture from Wes Schneider's notebook has the word 'dork' in the second column?
Read the discussion thread for that blog entry. Pygon and I also thought it said "dork", but we were corrected.
I thought that the brainstorm list said "dork" for a second too, but that's just Wes's handwriting—it really says "dark."
Now we need a statblock for an insidious and intelligent foe named the Dark Dork.
Because Dungeons & Dragons was already taken, as was Mazes & Monsters.
Among others.
So if I wanted to market my own RPG, and try to imitate the name "Pathfinder" to grab people's attention, I could call my game... Explorer?
You're lucky. I would have to call my game "3".
Because Dungeons & Dragons was already taken, as was Mazes & Monsters.Among others.
And, as Lemmy simply put it upthread, because "Pathfinder" sounds really cool.
Seriously, after being mocked throughout my high school years for playing a game with a name like "Dungeons & Dragons", and after finding myself blushing and looking at the floor while asking librarians and book store employees for Dungeons & Dragons books, I don't know if I want to get involved in a game with a name that imitates that name so closely, like "Mutants & Masterminds". It's a relief to be able to refer to a game by name of which I don't feel ashamed in public.
I feel more shame when I admit I own a Pathfinder book than when I admit to owning a D&D book.
Why?
Because I actually prefer 3.5e to Pathfinder, yet I failed to inform my players of the latter's flaws until it was too late.
Caverns & Wyverns!!!!!
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The minds behind the current game system spent their dilinquent youth forced through the pathfinder program for troubled teens. Once released they named it pathfinder to describe their adventures in the wilds.
...after being mocked throughout my high school years for playing a game with a name like "Dungeons & Dragons", and after finding myself blushing and looking at the floor while asking librarians and book store employees for Dungeons & Dragons books... It's a relief to be able to refer to a game by name of which I don't feel ashamed in public.I know the feeling. It's an even nicer treat not to have to refer to myself as a "Dungeon Master." People who didn't understand the gaming term... leapt to their own conclusions.
Heh... IMO "Dungeons and Dragons" is a clever name, but it does sound very silly. "Dungeon Master" even more so.
I removed a post. Just because the message boards have a profanity filter doesn't mean you should post as if it doesn't exist.
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I removed a post. Just because the message boards have a profanity filter doesn't mean you should post as if it doesn't exist.
Sorry, Sean. Will rephrase to be more polite.
...after being mocked throughout my high school years for playing a game with a name like "Dungeons & Dragons", and after finding myself blushing and looking at the floor while asking librarians and book store employees for Dungeons & Dragons books... It's a relief to be able to refer to a game by name of which I don't feel ashamed in public.I know the feeling. It's an even nicer treat not to have to refer to myself as a "Dungeon Master." People who didn't understand the gaming term... leapt to their own conclusions.
Ignore them. Let your freak flag fly!
I should expand on that. A lot of people had some less than stellar reactions when I first told them I played D&D. Then I explained it to them, convinced them to try it, and that became my gaming group for the next 3 years. So, don't just ignore them. Explain it to them. You just might convert some people into die-hard gamers.