Saturday, October 8, 2011

If I was 12, I'd be playing...

If I was 12 with no children or profession, I'd probably be playing the Pathfinder RPG.

I don't talk about Pathfinder much, and I only talk about 4E when I want to slag contemporary RPGs. Having said that, I watched the 10 minute video of Eric Mona's crotch where he unboxes the new introductory boxed set for Pathfinder. It looks super-cool with crippleware after 5th level.

I'm torn when it comes to Pathfinder for a couple reasons. First, I have no interest in rules-crunchery and will never play 3.5 again or dabble in Pathfinder (see my rant on in-game checks below). Having said that, as an outsider I think Pathfinder is the spiritual successor of contemporary D&D, not 4E. I don't think I'm alone on that call. I'd like to see it do well.

The thing I really don't like about Pathfinder is the aesthetic of the game. They layouts are pretty amazing but the art itself looks very over-produced, much like the art for 4E. For me, the aesthetic of the game is absolutely critical. Much of it leans toward High Fantasy, and I'm totally not interested in that style of game. Their goblins are really hard to swallow.

Even if (like me) you don't play Pathfinder, you should check out the video. They did a great job.

5 comments:

  1. Has anyone anywhere ever looked dignified doing an unboxing video? I think not...

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  2. It's unlikely i'll ever play the game, but i'm still buying that Pathfinder boxed set.

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  3. Oddly enough, our group plays Pathfinder precisely because we all do have jobs and families. Not one of us has time to prepare campaign materials and I don't think any of us is particularly good at DMing sandbox games, so the Pathfinder adventure paths are the only option for us.

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  4. Years ago I tried to stick it out with 3.5 but we just couldn't remember all the rules, feats, and stuff. We were constantly looking things up, that in previous versions, was subject to the DM. So we packed it in and went Old School. Once I got that sweet, sweet, smell of Gygax's D&D again that was it.

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  5. I am currently sharing DM duties in a Pathfinder game and playing in a 4e campaign, and the interesting thing to me is how I will do a lot of hand-waving and on the fly rules for Pathfinder while my co-DM is a lot more by the books... while in our 4e game, things seem to run very smoothly with little need for rules checks, but I also feel that Pathfinder does have the better "feel" of an RPG and that 4e seems to just degenerate into combat sequences and tactical miniatures combat... so, I guess it does depend on what you like, and what your DMing and playing styles are... if you like in depth rules, Pathfinder might be good.. if you don't mind being a bit more freeform, you can run Pathfinder without always referencing every rule, or you if you like to keep it straight forward to everyone at the table, 4e might be better for your group... to each their own, eh? - Josh

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