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The fact that it hasn't rebooted. That's why I gave up on the initial incarnation of this game after 3.5. Build, don't reset/reboot. I want my books to be relevant. I didn't spend $40+ on each just to have to do so again 5-8 years later.
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For one: It's a bloody versatile system in that it can mechanically justify concepts I'd struggle to in just about another fantasy system at present.
Mild praising ramble below as well
It's one I don't normally see in these threads but:
Paizo's staunch want to be representative is laced throughout pathfinder. There is, whether we like to discuss it or not, a historic undercurrent of TRPGs holding a self-reinforcing white straight guy dominance. Art and writing that build into that did not help.
Sure, nothing stops someone sitting across from me who is outside this archetype but when they open a rulebook or adventure path and, once again, "don't fit" as it were? It's hardly a great avenue to encourage them to return.
Paizo got a platform and used it for social benefit. Even if you don't think this was necessary on their part, it helps erode the notion that a company can just avoid tackling these things. Not single-handedly but it helps. And will continue to.
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Character options!
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What Cal said, and the fact that for all it's become bloated and clunky, it gives better characters than it's 3.5 predecessor.
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The bloat.
Simply put, what i like the most is the huge amount of options one has when it comes to PF.
Hope they keep adding more and more for a long time to come.
I'm not so keen on the bloat, I'm book bound and I can't have my whole collection with me at all times.
The vast and myriad selection of options.
Mostly mentioned here already: Paizo being inclusive. It's done very well.
The myriad of options. Not only character options (which are often very thematic and cool), but also for GMs. The myriad of setting-parts you can choose from and continuously updated rules for rather specific things (e.g. the updated underwater combat rules, the upcoming Ultimate Wilderness, hopefully).
It's just very easy to play so many things in Pathfinder.
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Seconding all of these.
Inclusivity is really nice to see in TRPGs, I feel that it gives our hobby a bit of extra class, especially when contrasted against some parts of the video game community that have been a bit toxic in recent times. I don't have to be embarrassed to call myself a tabletop gamer. I'm proud to show off my Pathfinder books that have art of strong characters of many types and backgrounds.
Continuity, both in the "Paizo hasn't rebooted their game" and the "Paizo is continuing 3.5 rules" senses are important to my group because we're still playing Eberron and Planescape storylines with the 3.5 mechanical material. Nobody has to rebuild their character for a new edition and suddenly realize that they're missing a key ability that was designed out of the class. No suspension of disbelief issues when the spell that worked a few years ago doesn't exist in the world anymore because it got cut from the new core book. And no negation of all of the books I've been buying since 2003. D20 has some issues and break points but PF fixed what we saw as the worst of them (Polymorph & Wild Shape, Animal Companions > Fighters, multi-class builds being superior, spells like Knock negating entire classes) and we'll just live with the rest. Newer editions of other fantasy games haven't innovated that much compared to all of the rules light narrative control type games, and my group isn't really into the fate point, narrative control, fail forward story gaming stuff.
I do have a new thing to add to the praise pile though:
PDF Support and continuation of the OGL is a big deal for me. I don't want to carry around a stack of books,and I frequently check rules on my phone. That I can carry around all of the books on my phone and laptop, reference the SRD site when I just need to quickly pull up a specific feat or spell on the spot (like, say, right in the middle of a game), and that I can buy an inexpensive PDF of a book I'm on the fence about before committing to a $40-60 tome are big quality of life boosts that mean I don't have to actually stress out about the logistics of gaming - all my time and energy goes to rules and story rather than struggling to make the game convenient to play.
I buy the hardbacks to read and get ideas from, but when it comes to game time I've already chosen the encounters if they're monsters and I just print them off, rather than have a huge pile of Bestiaries at my table. And for quick rules references I have my laptop and d20pfsrd.com.
Like Face_P0lluti0n, I like that Paizo hasn't given in and "upgraded" to a 2.0, making all the books I've either been gifted with or bought with my money viable. I love the fixes to the problems 3.x had. Pathfinder isn't perfect, but it's the best iteration of the game I've ever played and my group has unanimously chosen to stay with PF until we eventually (and hopefully not for a long time) retire from gaming.
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I feel the need to add that character customization is a big plus for my group as well. Paizo seems to be dedicated to releasing enough core classes and archetypes to make it possible to play any character concept, which is a big improvement over 3.5 which mostly pushed a few core fantasy adventuring stereotypes and extremely niche prestige class concepts. Pathfinder supports Gandalf and Conan teaming up with Dr. Jekyll, the Stainless Steel Rat, Roland, and Elric.
The fact that PF's core classes support what would have previously been clunky multi-class combos with classes like Magus, Inquisitior, Skald, etc, makes it way easier for me to sell new or less experienced players on the game when I don't have to explain four class or prestige class stacked builds to them.
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To me it's basically what bound me to Paizo before Pathfinder was even a thing: The willingness to listen to and to communicate with the customers in a way seldom seen with another publisher.
Also, that Paizo has become the torchbearer of the OGL movement when WotC stopped to be so. I love that there is so many options to chose from, and 3PPs are essential to that feeling especially as Paizo can't do anything all by themselves. As an example, Paizo don't need to publish their own Psionic rules when there's Dreamscarred Press to take that job. Paizo doesn't need to publish several settings when FGG or Kobold Press (to name but a few) add their own settings to the fold. Paizo doesn't need to publish their own mythic options when Legendary Games and others do that for them.
And then, they make some damn fine adventure paths :)
All the customization I can do!
I've got my choice of classes, which then come with a choice of class features and spells. On top of that, there are archetypes, allowing me to get things just right.
I've got my choice of races, with a choice of alternate racial features.
I get two traits to round things out- generally one for mechanical purposes and one for flavor.
I can usually take care of combat viability with two or three feats, leaving the rest open for further customization at higher levels. For some classes, I can even afford to take VMC, giving me a mini-class to work with!
Once I've got the character applied, I've generally got something pretty memorable.
I do love some of the third party publishers. I won't list them all, but there are some darned good ones out there.
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Quoting myself from a different thread
Some of the reasons I love Pathfinder.
1. Accessibility: there is always a regular game going in my local area and the local game shops stock a fair range of books.
2. The PRD/SRD: if I don't have my books with me I can look up the rules on my phone.
3. The OGL: which means there is heaps of cool 3P content to draw from.
4. Nostalgia with options: back in the 80s my friends and I started with D&D. Pathfinder lets me relive the old days but with many more options to choose from.
5. The APs: the adventure paths are really well written and fun to play.
6. Golarion: very diverse and interesting world, plenty of story and adventure hooks for me to make use of.
7. Support: the game is well supported by Paizo and the fans. If I have any questions I can go on to the forum and search for a thread that answers my question.
8. The look: the artwork throughout the books, especially the maps, looks amazing.
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Just the pure massive amount of idea fodder
Spells, history, countries, races, there is just so much stuff to pick and choose from that you can easily craft your own story by throwing everything in a slow cooker and let it simmer.
There are a LOT of diamonds in the rough in pathfinder.
In brief: Pathfinder is the true spiritual successor to D&D 3.x.
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My favorite thing is the support: Paizo's site, pfsrd, archives of nethy's, the wiki are great sources of information. The Pathfinder message board here is robust, well moderated and more often than not very focused on helping. Paizo does seem to really be in touch with the fan base and always works to make Pathfinder better for them as well as for the bottom lime.
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The sheer variety of possible characters you can build.
Starfinder.
But my all time favorite part of Pathfinder is Occult Adventures.
And Rasputin Must Die!, it took a huge pair to publish that adventure, and man does it deliver.
I agree.
I just meant Pathfinder begat Starfinder was all. :-)
I still love Pathfinder.
Just to be the grumpy old man
Kludgy rules. Really - vancian magic. Classes? So many better systems out there from Fantasy Hero, to Gurps
Ridiculous amounts of fluff in the Core books.
I mean *really*. The average rule book is probably 1/4 content with the remainder drivel. There is a place for game world content- (huge place) but I'd rather see information for game world separated from rules for character creation etc. Bottom line - I'm paying for the right to play psychics or kineticists or rogues. I don't mind that. But I'd rather pay $10 for a 5 page guide and cert for a kineticist (or a $50 20 page guide for 4-5 classes) than wade through meaningless drivel no one remembers anyway.
On the other hand:
Pathfinder is made by the *players*. Go into any city - and you can find a game. Organized play is brilliant.
Mods are a huge plus, as are adventure paths.
PDFS, SRD, archives of nethys - as well as the huge wealth of 3rd party content. Things like HeroLab, d20, cheesegrinder.
Paizo's online order fulfilment is good. Convention and retailer support is good.
And they haven't lost sight of their customer.
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It's free...
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Adventure Paths! they are amazing! And so many options, for a Dm, is a paradise. Also, there is so much modularity with all the versions of the basic rules, I personally play with a mix of Pathfinder Unchained + Trailblazer... and is awesome
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And how could I forget to mention that unlike some other company, they have actually kept their forums running.
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1. I really like the community. 99.9% of the people on boards are not jerks.
2. The variation of complexity. A rules-lite player can play in the same game as someone who knows all the feats, spells, archetypes, classes, racial options, traits, and equipment, and both will have fun.
3. Theorycrafting. My group only plays once a month or so, and we've transitioned to 5th Edition, but PF lets me "play" by going to the boards discussing all sorts of rules and character and monster combos.
Setting. Golarion's nations, cultures, history, races, factions... all of it. I snap up every nation book I can find. Some dismiss it as 'fluff'--I call it the core of the game and its main attraction.
+1
Going all the way back to the 70s, none of the D&D settings ever did it for me. As much as I love world building my own creations, there was/is never enough time to get it right.
Pathfinder nails it with it Golarion. As above, I can't get enough of this stuff, and I just like to read it whether it's for game prep or pure enjoyment. I also find that despite all the detail, it is very easy to drop my own creations into the setting as well. A village here, a city there, a cult faction here, a thieves guild there....
The mechanics of the game work fine for me, either in all their glorious detail, or it's really not that hard to scale them back if that's your thing. I always feel that as a DM in a house game, you can use or not use whatever systems you want, as long as you make it clear to the players.
Also...the pawns. Miniatures are great when you can afford them, but having coverage for almost everything at very reasonable prices was actually the thing that put Pathfinder over the top for me when choosing a system.
Table variation. Everybody plays the game differently, and I absolutely love that.
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DAT bloat
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Growing up I was a big original D&D, AD&D 1e and 2e fan. Played in Grayhawk a lot which had a lot to like as far as original modules go and played in Forgotten Realms when it first came out (and a little bit of Dragonlance).
FR became my mainstay when I played fantasy games and looking back I think FR started to get on a similar page as PF but never quite got there.
Having come back to fantasy games and PF in particular I love the attention to detail. Some of the classic monsters aren't just random monsters to be encountered. Goblins, Kobolds, Orcs, even Giants all have a level of character and backstory added to them. And Golarion exists on a number of layers. It isn't just "ok here is this city or this nation". They have a disaster story. Ancient kingdoms built on top of other lost kingdoms. They have a weird mix of deities and worshippers that alignment-wise can kind of overlap. And their adventure paths (at least the ones I've read) are meaty with potential.
The art is what really gets me though. I have honestly struggled to find pictures that made me go 'meh'. The maps are lovely, the interior design of the books looks nice, and it doesn't seem to detract or distract from reading.
I don't know about this whole one race dominance thing as I've never had or experienced this problem in any game I've run or heard it come from any player I've GM-ed for and I've been gaming for a long time. But to each their own I suppose.
I do worry about the bloat though, especially from having played Rifts quite a bit. I like what Pathfinder has now but I don't want to run into a situation where every time they publish a book 3-4 new classes pop up. This usually means some new rules and making classes harder to find and would eventually cause the core book to become obsolete/out of date and so on.
And thank you for adding the magic items to the main book. That always bugged me about the original AD&D books, even 3.5.
It's free, and there is a ton of options.
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Since the inclusivity has been mentioned so much, I'd like to mention a slightly different kind of inclusivity, cultural.
PF makes a point of including other cultures in ways that aren't just week lip service. Creatures of all sorts are represented, as well as different cultures in the setting. The main omissions in culture have largely been well tread European cultures, rather than under-represented cultures from the rest of the world.
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It's free, and there is a ton of options.
I really liked your review of "Ultimate Wilderness", it was short but on point. :-)
As you are often the first to rate a product, but in most cases don´t explain why it gets the rating, i often can´t comprehend it.
It would be great if you could write one or two short sentences to explain, as i found your reasoning in case of UW very sound.
Thanks and have a nice weekend!