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Post by Jet on Nov 24, 2010 14:16:16 GMT -5
Im with Brainstem- what is so special about this whole Pathfinder that I keep hearing about?
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Post by shenron on Nov 24, 2010 14:30:58 GMT -5
Pathfinder is basically 3.8 Edition. It takes 3.5 and fixes a lot of the problems, stream lines it, and balances all of the classes and races out.
Think of it as being a whole product of a bunch of the best house rules ever created for 3.5.
This is my go to game for fantasy usually. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Oh, and the core book? It is like have the players handbook, and the old 3.5 DMG combined into one. It is like 450+ pages for full color awesomeness.
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Post by takewithfood on Nov 24, 2010 14:51:59 GMT -5
I pretty much agree with what's been said. "a bunch of the best house rules ever created for 3.5" is well put.
It's also my go-to system for D&D.
~TWF
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Post by WildKnight on Nov 24, 2010 14:54:18 GMT -5
The core rules to Pathfinder really would have been perfect if they'd just done away with Save-or-Die and Save-or-Lose effects.
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Post by Brainstem on Nov 24, 2010 16:29:38 GMT -5
How is it streamlined, though? What actually makes it different from 3.5?
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Post by takewithfood on Nov 24, 2010 16:45:13 GMT -5
Specifically, here are a few changes:
- You no longer get four times as many skill points at first level than you usually would; instead, if you take at least 1 rank in a class skill, you gain a one-time +3 bonus. Thus, you can actually be good at "cross-class" skills, and you don't have to worry about max ranks or paying double, etc. Your max ranks is your character level, always.
- Combat maneuvers all use the same basic mechanic; everyone has a CMB (combat maneuver bonus) and a CMD (combat maneuver defense). When you want to disarm someone, for example, roll d20 + your CMB and compare it to the opponent's CMD; if you win, yay. Grappling is so much easier now.
- Many skills are folded into each other for ease of use. For example, Hide and Move Silently are now just Stealth; Spot, Search and Listen are Perception. Some of the mechanics are much easier and more useful now, too.
That's off the top of my head. There are other, smaller details, but those are some of the big ones.
~TWF
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Post by WildKnight on Nov 24, 2010 17:15:24 GMT -5
You covered all the really important stuff. The rest really falls under the category of "tweaks" (like certain spells have been altered, etc)
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Post by Jet on Nov 24, 2010 17:53:22 GMT -5
Somehow Im not sold right now. I'll need to check it out myself.
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Post by WildKnight on Nov 24, 2010 19:02:24 GMT -5
Bottom line; if you didn't like anything about 3.5, you won't like Pathfinder. If, like me (and many others) you thought 3.5 was okay, but wanted it to be better, you'll probably dig it.
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Post by Brainstem on Nov 24, 2010 22:02:41 GMT -5
I guess my biggest concern with 3.5 was the Spell system and how convoluted it always seemed to me; I'm guessing it's mostly the same in Pathfinder, then?
If only D&D could have come up with a system to use a mana pool of sorts (like the Vitality for Jedi) with magic, you know?
Also, could you restate the Skills thing? What do you mean by a one-time +3 bonus? Are there just no Skill ranks anymore, replaced with an option one-shot bonus a certain number of times per day or what-have-you?
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Post by WildKnight on Nov 24, 2010 22:12:44 GMT -5
The spell system is the same, more or less. I'm not sure what you mean by convoluted. I mean, I know what convoluted means, but I don't see where it applies here. It's a pretty simplistic system. Each day you can cast X number of spells per day from a given level. Whats tricky about that?
FYI, if you want a "Mana Points" system for D&D 3.5 spell-casting, drop me a PM and I'll hit you with a few good ones!
The skill system in Pathfinder works in a manner very similar to 3.5, except that your maximum ranks in any given skill is equal to your character level (in 3.5, it was your character level +3, divided by two if it was a cross class skill). In addition, if the skill is a class skill for any of your character classes and you have placed ranks in it, you get a +3 bonus to that skill.
So lets say I'm a Fighter at level 1. I have 2 skill points. I place them in Search and Disable Device. At level 2, I take a level of Rogue, and put 2 of my new skill points in Search and Disable Device, and because I'm now a Rogue and those are class skills, I get a +3 bonus. This bonus doesn't go away (if you're leveling in a class for which its not a class skill) or increase (if you take a second class for which it is a class skill).
What it ultimately works out to is this; you can put your skill ranks into anything you want. You can be a Fighter with Knowledges or a Wizard who jumps and climbs well. But you'll only be really good at those skills if, at some point, they've been a class skill for you.
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Post by shenron on Nov 24, 2010 23:52:22 GMT -5
As well as a lot of the feats have be changed for smoothness and functionality.
Especially Power Attack, Cleave, and a few others.
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Post by WildKnight on Nov 24, 2010 23:59:47 GMT -5
Power Attack is a lot better. Cleave... I think they lost their minds when they created the new version.
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Post by Dullahan on Nov 25, 2010 0:09:26 GMT -5
What's wrong with Cleave?
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Post by WildKnight on Nov 25, 2010 9:42:03 GMT -5
What's wrong with Cleave? Now, instead of only attacking a secondary target when you kill someone, you get to attack a secondary target every time you hit. It makes damage output crazy (crazier) for Power Attack builds.
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