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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Jun 2018 : 19:22:29
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| So is this playtest going to explain (or at least show) the changes they mention? |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4438 Posts |
Posted - 21 Aug 2018 : 13:31:41
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| Well the Playtest is out, free on PDF and the hard copy is around $35.00 USD. Anyone have a look at it yet? |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jan 2020 : 23:37:27
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| I'm running this now and really enjoying it. It's fresh and simple to play, but it requires reading a lot of the core rulebook to really get before you can appreciate it. It is obviously much more rules heavy than 5e, but it's faster and clearer than 3e/PF1e. One thing to note is that we STILL don't have all of the rules: the GameMastery Guide coming out in a few months is going to have the rules for NPCs and monster creation. It's difficult to do more than reflavour published things until then. |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2020 : 01:04:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
I'm running this now and really enjoying it. It's fresh and simple to play, but it requires reading a lot of the core rulebook to really get before you can appreciate it. It is obviously much more rules heavy than 5e, but it's faster and clearer than 3e/PF1e. One thing to note is that we STILL don't have all of the rules: the GameMastery Guide coming out in a few months is going to have the rules for NPCs and monster creation. It's difficult to do more than reflavour published things until then.
Has there been any major changes to the setting (for example, like 4e did with Forgotten Realms), or are things pretty much the same? I am only somewhat familiar with Pathfinder (I started to get into it, playing a couple times, and reading some of the novels, but then that novel line went on hiatus, too), but I just want to know if there are major changes I should be aware of. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2020 : 01:37:02
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quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
I'm running this now and really enjoying it. It's fresh and simple to play, but it requires reading a lot of the core rulebook to really get before you can appreciate it. It is obviously much more rules heavy than 5e, but it's faster and clearer than 3e/PF1e. One thing to note is that we STILL don't have all of the rules: the GameMastery Guide coming out in a few months is going to have the rules for NPCs and monster creation. It's difficult to do more than reflavour published things until then.
Has there been any major changes to the setting (for example, like 4e did with Forgotten Realms), or are things pretty much the same? I am only somewhat familiar with Pathfinder (I started to get into it, playing a couple times, and reading some of the novels, but then that novel line went on hiatus, too), but I just want to know if there are major changes I should be aware of.
I've ordered the new setting book, but it's not arrived yet. I saw something about the Worldwound being closed, though. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2020 : 02:44:33
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
I'm running this now and really enjoying it. It's fresh and simple to play, but it requires reading a lot of the core rulebook to really get before you can appreciate it. It is obviously much more rules heavy than 5e, but it's faster and clearer than 3e/PF1e. One thing to note is that we STILL don't have all of the rules: the GameMastery Guide coming out in a few months is going to have the rules for NPCs and monster creation. It's difficult to do more than reflavour published things until then.
Has there been any major changes to the setting (for example, like 4e did with Forgotten Realms), or are things pretty much the same? I am only somewhat familiar with Pathfinder (I started to get into it, playing a couple times, and reading some of the novels, but then that novel line went on hiatus, too), but I just want to know if there are major changes I should be aware of.
I've ordered the new setting book, but it's not arrived yet. I saw something about the Worldwound being closed, though.
Right! So the way continuity works in the official Pathfinder setting of Golarion is that they only update it when they release new versions of the core setting guide. Every year they produce two six-month adventure series (called adventure paths or APs) that often end with big repercussions (like the Worldwound being closed at the end of the Wrath of the Righteous AP) but those don't get folded in and made canon for other products until the next time the setting as a whole is updated. Because this is the first time the setting has been updated in eight years, there were about sixteen APs worth of changes to include. So there are new nations, changes in leadership, a couple deity changes, returned evils and so on.
Now, these changes are regional, only affecting part of the world. There's nothing like say the Time of Troubles or the Spellplague going on. Pathfinder 2e has a bunch of rules changes, but they're largely evolutionary and additive in terms of how the setting is perceived. Has the Pathfinder setting changed in a bunch of ways? Yes, but they're all following ideas that had been previously developed and created for the setting. I think I'd compare it to the 2e-3e change to the Realms, some new stuff, some old stuff getting resolved, some things got discarded. Similarly, if you want to just play 2e using the 1e setting, you'd be perfectly fine. You might need to improvise some rules until they get things updated to 2e, but using say the 1e setting book you have will work great.
This brings me to another big change with 2e, which is that none of the game lines are setting-neutral any more. 1e had kind of a Chinese Wall between the core rulebook line and the rest of the products, so most of the Pathfinder rulebooks were written to be setting agnostic. They eventually got rid of this policy by the end of 1e, and now all rulebooks are written with Golarion as the default setting. The 2e core rulebook has a setting chapter on Golarion, there's more specific setting detail about Golarion written through say the ancestry (race) descriptions, and so on. (This doesn't mean the rulebooks don't support creating your own setting, adventures, or ideas however!)
You might think this makes adapting 2e for say the Realms a lot harder, but they made one big change that makes it a lot, lot easier. Everything is now explicitly tagged with a rarity trait (common, uncommon, rare, or unique) that describes how available it is in your game, and it is made very clear that GMs and players should change the rarity of game items to fit their setting and playstyle. (Common options are always available, uncommon options are sometimes available depending upon the part of the setting or context you're in, rare options require GM consent, and unique options can only be introduced by the GM.) A good example is the goblin ancestry, which is now straight up in the Core Rulebook and accessible for all players. They count as common. This makes sense for Golarion, it's a prominent mascot race for Paizo and they did a lot of work to make goblins more acceptable in many civilizations. It doesn't make a lot of sense in the Realms, where we don't have a lot of civilized goblins in the same way. We've had goblin PC stats in pretty much every edition, but they're always tagged with "ask your DM." So for the 2e game I'm running in Westgate I changed goblins to rare, requiring a player to discuss including them with me before using that ancestry. And we have a goblin, but I was able to talk through goblins in the Realms with the player first and put us both on the same page. It's really that simple. |
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keftiu
Senior Scribe
656 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2020 : 02:48:40
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quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
quote:
Originally posted by Arivia
I'm running this now and really enjoying it. It's fresh and simple to play, but it requires reading a lot of the core rulebook to really get before you can appreciate it. It is obviously much more rules heavy than 5e, but it's faster and clearer than 3e/PF1e. One thing to note is that we STILL don't have all of the rules: the GameMastery Guide coming out in a few months is going to have the rules for NPCs and monster creation. It's difficult to do more than reflavour published things until then.
Has there been any major changes to the setting (for example, like 4e did with Forgotten Realms), or are things pretty much the same? I am only somewhat familiar with Pathfinder (I started to get into it, playing a couple times, and reading some of the novels, but then that novel line went on hiatus, too), but I just want to know if there are major changes I should be aware of.
Every adventure path is assumed to have happened and ended with the PCs triumphant. This means the Worldwound is closed, Nocticula has been redeemed, Casandalee is a goddess now, Korvosa is independent, and a few other things. It also had the colonial regime of Sargava overthrown by a revolution, and now Vidrian is a new nation in its place run by native Mwangi.
Oh, and Tar-Baphon is free. He destroyed Lastwall. |
4e fangirl. Here to queer up the Realms. |
Edited by - keftiu on 15 Jan 2020 02:49:12 |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2020 : 03:49:20
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| Thank you, Arivia and Keftiu! |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3243 Posts |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3287 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jan 2020 : 14:27:24
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| The Whispering Tyrant was my favorite "Villain" when I was into Golarion. Cool! |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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Renin
Learned Scribe
USA
290 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jan 2020 : 15:12:59
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A new hobgoblin nation was formed, occupying the mountains near Molthune and Nimrathas. Instead of being continual oppressors, they are now working on diplomatic and trade ties(from Ironfang invasion).
It's a place where events matter, days and years progress, and no baby was thrown out with the bath water with the edition changes.
Good, continued quality which always leads trying to meet fan desire, while being very open with their plans. It's why they get my money and Wotc doesn't. |
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Pathfinder 2nd Edition
