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Between the streamlined math, intuitive 3-action economy, flexible kitchen-sink setting, and a wealth of clearly written rules and pre-published adventures, Pathfinder Second Edition has made it easier than ever for me to grow and sustain my gaming circles. Not only have I been able to bring in new players and GMs with minimal friction, but I’ve also kept them engaged far longer than with any other system or edition I’ve run.
Earlier this year, I wrapped up my first ever full 1-to-20 campaign arc—and it looks like I'm on track to do it again. That’s something we never came close to achieving in previous editions. Pathfinder 2e is head and shoulders above its predecessors in terms of fun, clarity, and long-term engagement. Honestly, I’m not sure we ever would have made it to 20th level without it.
If you’ve got stories of your own—about bringing in new players, hosting memorable sessions, or growing the hobby—please share them! I’d love to hear how 2e has helped build your table.
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I agree. PF2 mostly runs very well from 1 to 20. I think it has more upside and customization than D&D5E while still providing very balanced math.
Given the number of games I've played over the years, PF2 is one of the easier to learn games with everything working in a fairly easy to learn progression that allows you to focus on storytelling rather than trying to balance the game for different classes.
It's definitely the most DM friendly game not making the DM work too hard to create challenging encounters even if taking monsters right from the bestiaries.
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I ran my PF1 campaigns in Maryland at the Family Game Store in Savage MD (it is essentially now 3 Gear Games in Laurel MD), so walk-ins were welcome to join my table. However, after I retired to upstate New York, I had to deliberately recruit new players. I tried to have at least one new player in each campaign.
For my PF1 Iron Gods campaign I recruited Richard, a good friend of our housemates. He would have become a regular player, but he died of cancer.
For the PF2 playtest, I recruited Hildy, an elderly science-fiction fan I knew from church. Richard joined in, too. She had not played a tabletop RPG since college. She was interested in joining my next campaign, but she and her husband retired and moved away.
For my PF2-converted Ironfang Invasion campaign, I recruited Erin, a teenaged friend of Hildy's from church. We ended the campaign in August 2023, just in time for Erin to leave for the University of Toronto. I have no idea if she joined any campaigns there. Furthermore, when we switched to playing online in March 2020 because of the Covid pandemic, my out-of-state daughters joined the campaign. They do not count as new players, because they have been joining our games since before the younger one could read. But an online friend, Story (that's his gamer tag), joined the campaign, too. He became such a PF2 fan that he tried running Outlaws of Alkenstar for his friends in Oregon. He is currently playing in my Stength of Thousands campaign.
We recruited another online friend, Dash, for A Fistful of Flowers. He decided that roleplaying was too hard and skipped the sequel A Few Flowers More.
During this time, a friend Willow back in Maryland lost the DM for their Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign. We had reconnected with Willow online and they asked whether I could continue the campaign online for them. They had finished their current story at 5th level, so I could start in a new setting. I agreed and purchased the D&D version of Jewel of the Indigo Isles from Battlezoo. One player quit after two months because the Indigo Isles material seemed to frivolous. We ended Jewel of the Indigo Isles in a break between sections, when the party had recovered the ancient jewel and was celebrating their victory but before cultists tried to steal it, due to scheduling trouble.
For PF2 Strength of Thousands we recruited another online friend Reese.
These online friends, besides my daughters, we had met while playing Elder Scrolls Online and organizing events in Discord. My housemate runs an ESO guild and my wife is an officer in that guild and another. They spend 8 times as much time on ESO than on Pathfinder.
So out of 6 new PF2 players my result is one definite PF2 fan, one in progress, one dropped out, and the rest are dead or out of communication. The D&D players don't count for PF2.