Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing is an interesting system. It is, at its core, essentially the Open Gaming License version of the D20 rules, similar to DnD 3.5. Saying that Pathfinder is simply a DnD clone is a great justice, however; Pathfinder is an open-source project that has gone through a public beta process and has been extremely open to player feedback.
Mother of all house rules
One of the key concepts behind the development of Pathfinder was to provide an alternative to Wizards’ decision to replace DnD 3.5 with DnD 4E. In general, the game has a number of similarities to the various editions of DnD. The character classes and races are familiar, and much of the material is backwards compatible with DnD 3.5. The stats used in Pathfinder are also the same, but some of them drive slightly different skills or couple with different powers. One interesting change is a damage table set to show the progression of weapon damage, which isn’t terribly different from DnD 3.5, but does provide some increased opportunity of customizing the gear of a character.
Supplemental rules for Pathfinder arrive on a weekly basis, and have expanded the number of spells, locations, monsters, and challenges greatly. The fact that Pathfinder remains OGL and actively encourages the fan community to participate in its development means a great deal. Officially, Pathfinder has yet to be released, yet it can already rival many of the editions or DnD for content and most of the material from DnD 3.5 could be converted for use in Pathfinder. One further nice addition to Pathfinder is an easy set of charts on how to power up, or down, any aspect of a campaign from damage to treasure or magic.
Finding a path
Pathfinder follows much of the example of DnD in putting forth a setting. The core book gives more general information, with a loose, implied story rather than a specific setting. This allows, as it does in DnD, GM’s to craft their own world. Still, Pathfinder also follows the system of introducing more specific settings through supplements, and there are already several supplements available detailing societies and locations that can be integrated into a game.
Pathfinder’s by-the-fans, for-the-fans attitude and dedication to the OGL make it an interesting system to watch. Its success or failure could greatly impact the future of roleplaying game development. To anyone interested in seeing just how well the players can define a game system, Pathfinder might be just the right fit. With the full version of Pathfinder set to arrive in August, now is an excellent time to get in on Pathfinder’s ground floor.
Comments