Product– Pathfinder Core Rulebook

System-Pathfinder

Producer–Paizo

Price– $60 here https://paizo.com/products/btq01y0k?Pathfinder-Core-Rulebook 

TL; DR-A solid mix of new good things, but some issues remain. 92%

 

Basics-It’s here!  Pathfinder 2nd ed is out in the wild!  Let’s dig into this thing! The basics from my previous review here:  Let’s look at the big changes.

Base Mechanic-The d20 system never really changes.  It’s still numbers + d20 vs other numbers.  Pathfinder 2nd Ed has the player add their ability modifier, their level, AND a modifier to the roll, depending on their level of proficiency.  The biggest change from the previous one is that the proficiency levels are now +2, +4, +6, or +8 instead of adding one to 4. Honestly, this feels like a change coming from 4th Edition DnD.  I know the heresy of that statement, but I like that mechanic.

Action Economy– Players still have the three actions per turn of the playtest with some spells or actions requiring additional actions to do.

Skills– If you are not trained it’s just a d20 + ability modifier.  If you are not trained, after about 4th level, it might not be useful to even roll.

Options–  This edition is labeled featfinder by its critics, but the designers use the word feat instead of options.  I’m ok with featfinder as I LOVE class options.

ITEM LEVELS!!!-Items HAVE LEVELS!  I love this as you know exactly what an item should cost, what kind of character should have this, and it means that some things such as alchemical items are going to be useful later as higher level options are available.

Character Advancement-  Characters now level at 1000 exp.  Monsters of your level give certain amounts of experience, and there are formulas for changing the experience points if you are fighting a creature of a higher or lower amount.

Those are the basics.  Let’s look at my thoughts.

Mechanics or Crunch-I really love this system.  Long ago, I toyed with the idea of making a 3.5/4e hybrid, and this is almost what I wanted.  I get the clean mechanics of the d20, but I add my level so leveling up made things matter.  I get the deep CRUNCH of 3.5/Pathfinder, but the ease of a 5e. I get cantrips that I can use all the time and not have a wizard firing crappy crossbows while still feeling like a wizard.  But it’s not perfect. Skills are kind of a big deal for me. I think the system kind of forgets about skills if you are untrained. I think a fighter could pick up some basics of magic from traveling with a wizard and I liked how previously untrained actions still added your level, just with a penalty.  Now you don’t add your level to untrained actions and that basically means you have silos where no untrained character can go. It’s a design choice that isn’t bad, but not one I love. Also, I really don’t like the new EXP system. Just keep creatures with different exp instead of having some crazy formula to figure out the exp!  It feels like a level of simplification that some players demanded but the rest of us hate. But overall, I really do like the simplicity of the system and the variety of options in this book. 4.75/5

Theme or Fluff-Everyone has their own idea of what “fantasy” should be.  Pathfinder has a niche of an almost industrial magic world where some elements of science are beginning to poke their timid heads out of the real magic with semi-magic, semi-chemistry potions and simple guns.  This new game nails that vibe. Also, this edition fixes a major problem others had before: alchemy. I love the idea of alchemy, but it’s always hard to add to a system Lots of RPGs add this in later due to fan demands.  But that system feels bolted on and not a core of the world, with alchemy basically being a new magic caster class but with a reskin. In Pathfinder 2e, with item levels, an alchemist makes alchemy items and the items are NOT spells.  They are their own special thing. I LOVE THIS! Pathfinder 2nd ed nails the Pathfinder theme even better than the original! 5/5

 

Execution–  PDF?  Check!  Hyperlinked?  NOPE! Come on Paizo!  This book is over 600 Pages!  Even random websites trading illegal PDFs have their stuff hyperlinked and for this size of document, it’s a major problem.  Also, I think 3.5 has the best layout for d20 systems in regard to class advancement and feats. However, in the new system the classes get a table of advancement for each level, but you have to read deep into each specific advancement to know what is really happening.  It’s less at a glance and results in slower leveling and progression. I LOVE table with the character level, short descriptions of mandatory class options, and saving throw bonuses, and even spells if needed. Now we get too many words that are not helping, and two tables that are seperate for magic and character options.  That is two too many! Nice concise tables would help this feel less wordy and less tiring to read. Next, feats for each class need a feat table with short, one sentence descriptions of each class option. This is going to take up space, but the current layout of listing several options and just making players read the possible rule in its entirety is too long and wordy.  Even if you keep the full feat description, adding these tables would make skimming for your next class option a breeze, but instead you end up reading lots of class options you do not care about. Reading about options you don’t care about is tiring! The rest of the book is fine, but those class sections could use some serious changes to make the material easier to read! Pathfinder 2nd ed charts its own territory, but it needs to learn from its roots for its readability.  4/5

 

Summary-My review of this system is not glowing, but I do love it.  The mechanics of 2nd edition Pathfinder are a mix of 3.5, Pathfinder, and 4th edition and 5th edition DnD.  Since I love all those games, I had no issues with all the best being blended together to make the best of everything.   I didn’t get EVERYTHING I wanted, but I got enough. I love the world, and the new mechanics of the new edition really emphasize the world.  The low point was the execution of the book. It feels way too wordy and made reading all the different classes a slog. The book isn’t bad by any stretch, but I feel that taking some clues on how other editions of RPGs work and displayed their information would really help here.  Now this might seem negative but overall I love this system. It’s easy to play, characters are made quickly, and I feel it’s going to be a fun system for a long time. Can’t wait to see what story I can tell with this system! 92%