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platanus's review against another edition
4.0
1. I did not read the book from cover to cover but have read individual chapters or subjects often enough to feel safe to say I've read this book.
2. My review here is of the book and not the system. (I love the system and have only a few minor complaints about it, in case you'd want to know)
Pathfinder 2e did something I had not seen in RPG Rulebooks before (AD&D, RoleMaster, Shadowrun, D&D 5e), which is establishing a system of signs and frames, traits and if you don't mind my linear algebra, a great basis to span the whole book on. So, what we get right off the bat is a quick reference with a basis that helps immensely improve the clarity.
To be fair the other RPG systems I had read into were all older and I believe in the natural evolution of non-fiction reference books learning from the experiences of those that came before.
We bought a digital copy of the book from Paizo and with it came a one-file-per-chapter version and I can't emphasize enough how much that has helped us in GMing. Not only does it help with new players, when you hand them only relevant chapters instead of the whole gargantuan monster of a Corebook, but also a huge help while playing, prepping, and GMing to be able to have multiple chapters open where you need the quickest reference and jump between them.
We have been preparing (we're both GMs as well as players) for 3.3 groups in different settings and so far we have come across very few questions that did not have a clear answer somewhere in the book.
Another great help is the side banner and the header on the first pages of character classes. They are a tremendous help in character creation, especially when walking less experienced or completely new players through the process.
The only deduction comes from a structure that could be improved. While we found answers to our questions, many of them took us a longer time to find than they should have, given how well-organized the system is.
2. My review here is of the book and not the system. (I love the system and have only a few minor complaints about it, in case you'd want to know)
Pathfinder 2e did something I had not seen in RPG Rulebooks before (AD&D, RoleMaster, Shadowrun, D&D 5e), which is establishing a system of signs and frames, traits and if you don't mind my linear algebra, a great basis to span the whole book on. So, what we get right off the bat is a quick reference with a basis that helps immensely improve the clarity.
To be fair the other RPG systems I had read into were all older and I believe in the natural evolution of non-fiction reference books learning from the experiences of those that came before.
We bought a digital copy of the book from Paizo and with it came a one-file-per-chapter version and I can't emphasize enough how much that has helped us in GMing. Not only does it help with new players, when you hand them only relevant chapters instead of the whole gargantuan monster of a Corebook, but also a huge help while playing, prepping, and GMing to be able to have multiple chapters open where you need the quickest reference and jump between them.
We have been preparing (we're both GMs as well as players) for 3.3 groups in different settings and so far we have come across very few questions that did not have a clear answer somewhere in the book.
Another great help is the side banner and the header on the first pages of character classes. They are a tremendous help in character creation, especially when walking less experienced or completely new players through the process.
The only deduction comes from a structure that could be improved. While we found answers to our questions, many of them took us a longer time to find than they should have, given how well-organized the system is.
ethancf's review against another edition
3.0
Going full on into neckbeard territory on this one folks, bear with me.
There are some clever twists to formula here that I think go a long way in changing up hardline traditions that needed to die, but I maintain my previous position that Paizo writes games for *players* and not GMs. There's a wealth of customization for your PC here and I'd love to play in a campaign where I can be a chirurgeon, or a spell blender, or a druid with a little mushroom familiar...but I'm far too lazy to run a game with this much rules baggage. It doesn't help that the book is horrendously organized.
Great concepts:
- Focus points instead of concentration (only downside is more bookkeeping)
- Classes are more "a la carte": picking feats as you go means you're not locked into a subclass, you're making your own. The downside here is that at a certain point it feels like they're only sticking with the class system because of tradition (and that's what people are used to). It also clashes terribly with the forced racial ability score bonuses (and penalties! GET RID OF THE PENALTIES). There's a weird mix of tradition/innovation here that really stops this game from shining.
- The TEML system is really interesting and much more nuanced than 5e's Proficiency system. Again, more bookkeeping, but leads to a more realized PC.
- Anathema is a cool mechanical concept
- The class sections starts with a description of what you might do in any one of the game's pillars: social, combat, downtime, exploration etc. Really smart move.
Bad:
- Fighters seem...eh. Shield block as a class feature means ranged fighter will always feel like you should just something else, or at least be a switch hitter. Their core feature is...attack of opportunity?? Ok.
- Why bother renaming Paladin to Champion, then only including good-aligned as an option for the class? Not necessarily bad, just...why?
- I'd thought this edition was aiming to streamline some things but it seems even more complicated, honestly. Maybe it's just because I've taken a break from 3.x systems for so long, or maybe it's because the book is truly badly organized (it took me way too long to figure out what Focus points were, despite it being a core feature of one of the druid options).
If I was still playing PF, I'd absolutely want to make the jump to 2e. PF was already the "build whatever you want" as a character, and 2e leans into this with full force. 5e is still my system of choice, though.
There are some clever twists to formula here that I think go a long way in changing up hardline traditions that needed to die, but I maintain my previous position that Paizo writes games for *players* and not GMs. There's a wealth of customization for your PC here and I'd love to play in a campaign where I can be a chirurgeon, or a spell blender, or a druid with a little mushroom familiar...but I'm far too lazy to run a game with this much rules baggage. It doesn't help that the book is horrendously organized.
Great concepts:
- Focus points instead of concentration (only downside is more bookkeeping)
- Classes are more "a la carte": picking feats as you go means you're not locked into a subclass, you're making your own. The downside here is that at a certain point it feels like they're only sticking with the class system because of tradition (and that's what people are used to). It also clashes terribly with the forced racial ability score bonuses (and penalties! GET RID OF THE PENALTIES). There's a weird mix of tradition/innovation here that really stops this game from shining.
- The TEML system is really interesting and much more nuanced than 5e's Proficiency system. Again, more bookkeeping, but leads to a more realized PC.
- Anathema is a cool mechanical concept
- The class sections starts with a description of what you might do in any one of the game's pillars: social, combat, downtime, exploration etc. Really smart move.
Bad:
- Fighters seem...eh. Shield block as a class feature means ranged fighter will always feel like you should just something else, or at least be a switch hitter. Their core feature is...attack of opportunity?? Ok.
- Why bother renaming Paladin to Champion, then only including good-aligned as an option for the class? Not necessarily bad, just...why?
- I'd thought this edition was aiming to streamline some things but it seems even more complicated, honestly. Maybe it's just because I've taken a break from 3.x systems for so long, or maybe it's because the book is truly badly organized (it took me way too long to figure out what Focus points were, despite it being a core feature of one of the druid options).
If I was still playing PF, I'd absolutely want to make the jump to 2e. PF was already the "build whatever you want" as a character, and 2e leans into this with full force. 5e is still my system of choice, though.
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