Pathfinder set out to update the rules of D&D 3.5 nearly ten years ago and has since become a veritable force in the tabletop industry. Now, nearly a decade after the first playtest, they have announced that they intend to revise the rules once more with Pathfinder 2.0. The playtest beta rules are scheduled to drop on August 2, 2018 and will be available for free as a PDF, or for purchase in softcover ($29.99), hardcover ($44.99), and deluxe hardcover ($59.99) editions. Additionally, a playtest adventure and maps will be available for purchase.
What’s Changing?
According to Paizo, the rules are being simplified and streamlined – All of the various formulas for determining a character’s statistics, like saving throws, attack bonuses, and skills, are being unified by a single proficiency system based on your character’s level. This sounds reminiscent of Star Wars Saga Edition, and to a lesser extent, D&D 5e.
This is further supported by a complete change in the game’s philosophy regarding magic items. The bane of the system has always been that your character’s usefulness was almost entirely reliant upon having optimal magical equipment (a problem in D&D 3.0/3.5 as well as 4e). Little information is available, but all the language suggests that magic item bonuses will go by the wayside in favor of more “wondrous” and, I imagine, versatile abilities and effects.
Goblins and Alchemists are being added to the standard fantasy races (now ancestries) and classes, respectively. A fully developed background system will be implemented, though I found no details about the nature of this system. Feats seem as though they will play a much larger part in fleshing out your character and choices seem to be provided by both your ancestry and class. Spells are also being re-balanced and an attempt to bridge the gap between the potency of spellcasters and martial characters has been alluded to. Move, Attack, Swift, and other action types are gone; in this edition, all characters get three actions and a reaction per round. Speaking of actions, there has been a promise of more interesting and potent combat maneuvers.
How Does This Affect Our Games/Book Collections?
Honestly, probably not dramatically unless you are part of organized play. The setting isn’t changing and all the fluff in your old books will still be just as relevant as they were before. The mechanics are changing and will not be directly compatible, but Paizo has stated that conversion should be a relatively simple affair and is going to be releasing a conversion cheat-sheet alongside the beta rules. Organized play will keep chugging along and the previous 250+ scenarios will still be available. However, you will apparently not be able to convert your existing characters for the new adventures (though they are offering some sort of carry-over boon for existing players for their new characters).
My “Two Copper Pieces”
I think a rules change is due; Pathfinder has gotten pretty clunky, convoluted, and easy to break over the years. However, only time will tell if the changes they are making are going to build a better system. Honestly, I’m not seeing any new ideas in the press releases so far. There have been a lot of claims of simplification and streamlining but I don’t find them all that credible due to the simultaneous promises of greater customization, combat maneuvers, backgrounds, 10th level spells, etc…
At the end of the day, Pathfinder is derivative of D&D 3.5, allowing those of us who didn’t care for the style of D&D 4e to keep playing the game we loved (with some much-needed fixes). The question is, how much room does Pathfinder 2.0 have to innovate while staying true to its roots? I suspect that we aren’t going to see anything really groundbreaking with this new edition – in fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this system is as closely related to D&D 5e as its predecessor was to 3.5. Personally, I’d really like them to try something new but I suspect that there are just as many fans that would like to see them patch up the problematic rules and maintain the status quo. Somewhere between these perspectives is the tightrope that Paizo must walk.
The good news is that you can try it before you buy it as long as you are okay with a PDF copy of the book. If you are the type that is committed to physical copies, you can place your pre-order for print editions on www.paizo.com between March 20 and May 1. Alternately, Paizo also has a pre-order form that you can take to your FLGS. If you can’t wait till the August 2nd release, Paizo will be rolling out some Pathfinder 2.0 at the following conventions throughout 2018:
- March 8–11: GaryCon—Lake Geneva, WI
- May 25–28: PaizoCon—Seattle, WA
- June 1–3: UK Games Expo—Birmingham, UK
- June 13–17: Origins Game Faire—Columbus, OH
- July 20–22: PaizoCon UK—Birmingham, UK
- August 2–5: Gen Con—Indianapolis, IN
Original Announcement From Erik Mona (publisher) and Jason Bulmahn (lead game designer):
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlBP0lEQ1Qo[/embedyt]
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Goblins weren’t a standard fantasy race before? Or do you mean they’re becoming a standard PC race? If the latter; dear God why? I mean, We Be Goblins was a funny one-shot adventure and all, but I really don’t know how I’d deal with a PC trying to play as one of these toothy psychotics.
Yes, they will be a standard PC race now (in fact the new iconic for the alchemist is a goblin). I can’t speak to Paizo’s motivations, but I think it probably is because their visual redesign of goblins has pretty much become the icon of their system.