Hi all just need some advice on how to go about convincing a bunch of 2ed players to give pathfinder a try .
Any thoughts ?
Tell them THAC0 sucks and that the d20 way is much easier!
Tell them that you're running PF and you'd be willing to help them with the rules, because you'd like to play the game with them?
People will try new things that they otherwise might not just to hang out with their friends.
Depends on the group, do they use the Complete Handbooks, Combat and Tactics, Skills and Powers, etc, or do they use core only? If its the former it might be pretty easy to get them to try it out, if its the latter you'll likely have an uphill battle ahead of you, as one thing many people like about AD&D is its simplicity (which isn't really a word that could be used to describe Pathfinder).
One thing to consider would perhaps be to run them through the beginners box, that might make for a smoother transition.
Tell them that you're running PF and you'd be willing to help them with the rules, because you'd like to play the game with them?
People will try new things that they otherwise might not just to hang out with their friends.
+1
I think I am going to use this for a similar situation.
I would just say "It is only 1 game, and if you don't enjoy it I won't bother you about it again". If they are that much against trying a game even once then you might be out of luck. Every game I tried and like I had no intention of playing a 2nd time, but I am glad I gave them a shot.
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Find out what it is they like about 2E, and that may be because it's less complex, easier to set up and run.
There's a lot to be said for a game where creating a character takes minutes, and there's no implicit expectations that PCs have X,000gp magical wealth.
Knowing you can call a game at short notice, and your PC is ready to roll almost as soon as you sit down, may be preferable to poring through several books, worrying that if you make the 'wrong' feat choice, you've doomed everyone to failure.
Balancing encounters is left totally up to the GM, but since the 3E CR system is flawed at best, I usually find myself viewing all 3E and PF CRs with scepticism anyway.
Don't start any conversation by trying to prove one system's superiority over another, because what system is best for a group differs, according to what the group is trying to achieve.
We can spend the whole thread debating why PF is 'better' than 2E, but only the group members will know what they want from the game, whether that be casual games, or complex.
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If you are introducing them I would start with the basic box its well put together and easier to understand.
Also to be clear thac0 and the baby system are basically the same math but mirror oposites.
Try The Godsmouth Heresy with them... tbh IMO it's a VERY good intro to PFRPG.. Personally, there are a few reasons
1) they may feel outside their 'comfort zone'
2) they have to learn a new rule set,
3) they DON'T want to be bothered to learn a new rule set,
4) they may not want to 'invest' in the system, not even the CRB for their own reference - this can be alleviated with the online rule set ;)
Make it easier by giving them the Iconic pregens ... or try the Beginner Box
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One tactic that has worked in the past, is to have a one-to-one conversation with each group member, about character concepts they've had in the past, but never made.
When they tell you that they've 'always wanted to play a Robin Hood guy who was a good woodsman, like a ranger, but also knew how to break into castles and rob the rich, type of thing...but that doesn't really exist in the game...except as dual-classing, which isn't great...', or 'I really like the Conan stories, but I don't know how I'd make a character who's a barbarian, and a pirate, and a thief, and an army leader...', you can bring up the 3E/PF multi-classing, and how it allows for such concepts. That a PC can change focus at any point during their career, and not be frozen out of returning to their first class.
By allowing the other player to bring up those concepts, they are already partly invested in the idea of playing them, and it makes it far easier to sell the idea of playing a game in which these concepts can be built, and in fact, it could even sound like it was their idea to make the switch.