| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
One thing I've been thinking about is: with the move towards PF2nd, will there be some sort of compendia, collecting the various rules tidbits and archetypes and what-have-you that are scattered across a myriad of adventure paths and companion books?
Yes it might diminish the perceived value of those books, but as a send-off to PF1e and those who intend to keep playing it, it would be nice to have all of that disparate content collected in one place (or one place per topic). Especially since not everyone have the ability to purchase every single splatbook.
That seems like it would require a monumental effort. I suspect that while many might appreciate it, I doubt they'd plan to do something like this unless PF1e retained its popularity.
But in the realm of automation, such as Hero Lab, I suspect that eventually you might see one large combined bundle, which can be much more valuable than the actual books.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Gorbacz: Maybe they do, but it would be nice with something more... official, and something that doesn't require an internet connection.
Chance Wyvernspur: It would probably require quite the workload, yes. The content from the main line of products could be excluded (CRB, APG, UC, etc) to mitigate that somewhat, even if only a little. Still, it's a product I would gladly pay for.
As for character builders, I'm not a fan. To each their own, but I've found that almost invariably extensive use of character builders cause players not to understand their own creations. Less so for experienced players than beginners. In fact, I discourage the use of builders for new players.
As for character builders, I'm not a fan. To each their own, but I've found that almost invariably extensive use of character builders cause players not to understand their own creations. Less so for experienced players than beginners. In fact, I discourage the use of builders for new players.
I do also actually discourage builders myself. The only time I was all-in on a group of mine using them was in 4E, where it was basically required to make a functioning character. Especially since they were somehow even worse about errata during that era than Paizo.
What does this have to do with the playtest?
The french translators of the Pathfinder franchise are already doing this. They take a bunch of books talking about the same topic (for exemple, the two books about mythic adventures, or the three books about Golarion's gods), translate them, then mash them together in one book. So in my Golarion's gods book, the first part is the "Good gods" book, the second part is the "Neutral gods" one, and the third part is the "Bad gods" one, separated by a page displaying their original book cover's art. Paizo don't have to redistribute informations like a summary, just to reprint their books as is and slapping them into a single hard cover, thus not wasting too much efforts but still giving their customers a single place to look at for various infos about the same topic.
d20 and Archives of Nethys already do that, but I like having my books on my shelf so I can quickly look at an information during my play instead of having to boot my computer. I tend to better remember where is what I search in a book than on a website, which layout can change from time to time. Plus, you don't have official illustrations on these websites. Usually, when I search a monster to add to my scenario, I open the book, look at the illustrations, and then only read a monster's stat block if I feel they have the look for the job.
As for character builders, I'm not a fan. To each their own, but I've found that almost invariably extensive use of character builders cause players not to understand their own creations. Less so for experienced players than beginners. In fact, I discourage the use of builders for new players.
My preference would be to do things by hand too, however PF1e is so complex that my observations have been that everyone, including the most knowledgeable and experienced players, messes up stuff, usually because they forgot a couple of modifiers. Plus, a tool like Hero Lab saves time at the gaming table.
And I also regret having to use such a tool for it makes it much more difficult for a GM to introduce house rules, custom classes, and otherwise tweak the game. There are times when I just want to run back to D&D 1e and the widespread spirit of DMs customizing their games.
I cannot ignore the convenience of just buying data sets. For sentimental reasons, I miss books, but I don't miss all of the weight in my backpack nor having to search through rules manually. Sure, a website like the PFSRD saves the weight, but it doesn't narrow down your choices to only those for which a character is qualified. The market is shifting... I now ONLY buy data sets, not books or PDFs.
What does this have to do with the playtest?
Well, a possible relation could be that if Paizo's digital products department were to make their own "HeroLab" thingie beginning with the upcoming Beta it could incorporate a great many features 'at launch', including organized play 'toggles'.
Although given the less-than-stellar track record as regards keeping the PRD up-to-date ....
I cannot ignore the convenience of just buying data sets. For sentimental reasons, I miss books, but I don't miss all of the weight in my backpack nor having to search through rules manually. Sure, a website like the PFSRD saves the weight, but it doesn't narrow down your choices to only those for which a character is qualified. The market is shifting... I now ONLY buy data sets, not books or PDFs.
I stopped carrying hard copy books to my games after I dislocated my shoulder doing so.