Montejon Mutters: Pathfinder RPG Review
Okay, so I got my copy of the Pathfinder RPG core rulebook on Monday, a little earlier than most people can. Here is your before-the-rush "GenCon starts tomorrow" review. The executive summary is that if you liked D&D v3.5, get this. It's the same, but better.
First thing I noted upon receipt is that the book is huge. You'll remember back in the flush years of the WotC 3.5 Open Gaming License there was a small flood of massive books all at the $100US price point? This is the same size. It is also half that price. The paper is high quality and glossy, and supports full colour printing, unlike any of those books that I can remember. The binding has bent a bit with my reading through, there's something about the way they do bindings now that makes them less crisp than they used to be, but there's no glue leakage or any other obvious faults.
The campaign setting Paizo released awhile back had a very badly printed cover. The image contrast was smudgy and the pixilation was evident even from several meters away. The interior was less badly done, but still caused me to wince on occasion.
The core rule book does not have any of those problems. Except for the cover, which is original and quite nifty, the artwork is almost entirely recycled from the Pathfinder modules and adventure paths, plus some equipment and magic items using art from their GameMastery cards. This is not a bad thing. In fact, given the very high quality of the art direction at Paizo, this is a good thing. The obvious cost economy is enhanced by the fact that their visual library is huge. True, I've seen almost every piece in here. But only almost. I'm a charter Pathfinder subscriber, too, and have seen most of the stuff they've published. (Whether that charter membership is a source of pride our deep, burning shame is entirely a matter of my present company.) The art in general is just plain better than the stuff WotC put out in 3.5, and about on par with the stuff in 4e - which 3.5 successor gets the edge is entirely a matter of taste. Art Directors James Davis and Sarah Robinson deserve a pat on the back. Each. I mean, why be stingy? Good job, you two!
Presentation is very similar to the old 3.5 books in structure, but rationalised a bit, especially in the game mastery section. I did mention that this book is the equivalent of the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide combined, right?
Onward, to the actual game mechanics: My two pet peeves with D&D 3.5, both having to do with ranged combat, are not touched. Dang. My best house rule for a feat (relating to Mobility) doesn't get the time of day. Dang again. The equipment list is improved, but I still have niggling little issues. Not quite a dang, but not perfect. So, some house rules have already been written by yours truly. However, the drastically reduced and rationalised skill list is very much like what I use, and I have no real objections. (The new Linguistics skill suffers from the problem of language-related rules design in pretty much every game ever, except GURPS 4e, so while it's not perfect its imperfections are at least familiar.) Skill acquisition is OMG better than it was, and even better than the design I was putting together, although it starts from the same premise. A skill-limit problem that cropped up during last Sunday's game will no longer be an issue. Feat acquisition has been slightly accelerated, which is a good thing, and this is also less confusing. Two major wins there. The majority of character classes, with the exception of the cleric and sorcerer, get a "treat" every level. The cleric and sorcerer have to settle for treats every other level, with new spell availability subbing in for a line-item treat. Speed of level advancement now has a tuning system! Favoured classes also get an update that I like, but haven't totally fallen in love with.
Speaking of classes, though. Barbarians, oh so cool now. Bards, better than they were. Paladins, also better. Rangers, also better.
Note that by "better" I do not mean "more powerful". At least, not as much as you'd think. The abilities added are nice, but no more powerful than you'd get by knowing the old rules well and using prestige classes and other stuff to eke out an advantage. Now you don't have to. You can pick a core class, play it the whole way, and not feel like you're getting ripped off starting at about level six.
If you know me, you will know that what I say next is akin to a bomb going off in a library for shocking: I actually like sorcerers now. Oh, and it doesn't suck to play a generalist wizard. The downside of being a specialist has also been mitigated a bit, in a way that is eminently balanced.
Rules for animal companions/familiars/etc. have been made easier and more fun. Polymorph magic actually works. It's cool. I like it. The fix is simple and easy to understand. Magic items are slightly niftier, and read less like a catalogue from SkyMall that you are going to ignore because the army surplus store has +1 bastard swords on sale.
The really amazing thing, given all these changes, is that you really can just pick up a 3.5 game supplement and uses it with Pathfinder. They are compatible. This is more like a patch to a game than any kind of epic reimagining.
If you like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder is worth a pickup. If you don't like Dungeons & Dragons, you probably won't like Pathfinder.
First thing I noted upon receipt is that the book is huge. You'll remember back in the flush years of the WotC 3.5 Open Gaming License there was a small flood of massive books all at the $100US price point? This is the same size. It is also half that price. The paper is high quality and glossy, and supports full colour printing, unlike any of those books that I can remember. The binding has bent a bit with my reading through, there's something about the way they do bindings now that makes them less crisp than they used to be, but there's no glue leakage or any other obvious faults.
The campaign setting Paizo released awhile back had a very badly printed cover. The image contrast was smudgy and the pixilation was evident even from several meters away. The interior was less badly done, but still caused me to wince on occasion.
The core rule book does not have any of those problems. Except for the cover, which is original and quite nifty, the artwork is almost entirely recycled from the Pathfinder modules and adventure paths, plus some equipment and magic items using art from their GameMastery cards. This is not a bad thing. In fact, given the very high quality of the art direction at Paizo, this is a good thing. The obvious cost economy is enhanced by the fact that their visual library is huge. True, I've seen almost every piece in here. But only almost. I'm a charter Pathfinder subscriber, too, and have seen most of the stuff they've published. (Whether that charter membership is a source of pride our deep, burning shame is entirely a matter of my present company.) The art in general is just plain better than the stuff WotC put out in 3.5, and about on par with the stuff in 4e - which 3.5 successor gets the edge is entirely a matter of taste. Art Directors James Davis and Sarah Robinson deserve a pat on the back. Each. I mean, why be stingy? Good job, you two!
Presentation is very similar to the old 3.5 books in structure, but rationalised a bit, especially in the game mastery section. I did mention that this book is the equivalent of the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide combined, right?
Onward, to the actual game mechanics: My two pet peeves with D&D 3.5, both having to do with ranged combat, are not touched. Dang. My best house rule for a feat (relating to Mobility) doesn't get the time of day. Dang again. The equipment list is improved, but I still have niggling little issues. Not quite a dang, but not perfect. So, some house rules have already been written by yours truly. However, the drastically reduced and rationalised skill list is very much like what I use, and I have no real objections. (The new Linguistics skill suffers from the problem of language-related rules design in pretty much every game ever, except GURPS 4e, so while it's not perfect its imperfections are at least familiar.) Skill acquisition is OMG better than it was, and even better than the design I was putting together, although it starts from the same premise. A skill-limit problem that cropped up during last Sunday's game will no longer be an issue. Feat acquisition has been slightly accelerated, which is a good thing, and this is also less confusing. Two major wins there. The majority of character classes, with the exception of the cleric and sorcerer, get a "treat" every level. The cleric and sorcerer have to settle for treats every other level, with new spell availability subbing in for a line-item treat. Speed of level advancement now has a tuning system! Favoured classes also get an update that I like, but haven't totally fallen in love with.
Speaking of classes, though. Barbarians, oh so cool now. Bards, better than they were. Paladins, also better. Rangers, also better.
Note that by "better" I do not mean "more powerful". At least, not as much as you'd think. The abilities added are nice, but no more powerful than you'd get by knowing the old rules well and using prestige classes and other stuff to eke out an advantage. Now you don't have to. You can pick a core class, play it the whole way, and not feel like you're getting ripped off starting at about level six.
If you know me, you will know that what I say next is akin to a bomb going off in a library for shocking: I actually like sorcerers now. Oh, and it doesn't suck to play a generalist wizard. The downside of being a specialist has also been mitigated a bit, in a way that is eminently balanced.
Rules for animal companions/familiars/etc. have been made easier and more fun. Polymorph magic actually works. It's cool. I like it. The fix is simple and easy to understand. Magic items are slightly niftier, and read less like a catalogue from SkyMall that you are going to ignore because the army surplus store has +1 bastard swords on sale.
The really amazing thing, given all these changes, is that you really can just pick up a 3.5 game supplement and uses it with Pathfinder. They are compatible. This is more like a patch to a game than any kind of epic reimagining.
If you like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder is worth a pickup. If you don't like Dungeons & Dragons, you probably won't like Pathfinder.