Where Pathfinder Second Edition excels is in making combat less complicated than it was previously. It does that, at the most basic level, by refining the rules for what a player can do on their turn. This “action economy,” as it’s called, is far simpler in Second Edition than it was before, and the writing and design team at Paizo has sprinkled references to it throughout the entire Core Rulebook. The result is a game system that’s much easier to learn, and far more easy to run for harried game masters at the table.
Polygon Pathfinder 2E Review.
Session 0.1 – Introduction
In 2013, I was discussing with my friend Brandon that I really wanted to go back and try to play Dungeons and Dragons again, that I always had an interest in it. He told me, that the state of Dungeons and Dragons (at the time in its 4th edition) was a mess and that we should try Pathfinder instead. I reluctantly agreed and picked up the Starter set and Core rulebook for the 1st edition of Pathfinder.
We tried to play the starter set, with him taking on the role of Game Master (GM for short) and my wife and I using the pre-generated Player Characters (PCs) in the box set, but it didn’t go very long, and for some reason… we just never picked that back up.
It sat on the shelf for nearly 10 years before I considered it again. I think a lot of why it didn’t stick, was what I truly wanted to learn was Dungeons and Dragons, and mostly it appeared to me this wasn’t something you could easily get into with just a quick session. (Mind you, I don’t believe that anymore)
Fast forward 10 years, and I’m currently involved in a Pathfinder 2E campaign with an in-person group. I’m still “learning” the basics of Pathfinder, and there are things I like, and things I’m just not sure of yet.
I also haven’t been able to join that group in quite a while and when I do, I don’t feel very versed in the mechanics. Therefore, much like I recently did with the Dune RPG, ALIEN RPG, and others, I’m going to start a new solo game so that it will force me to take the time and really learn the system.
Advice to the reader
In order to interpret the structure of my gaming session posts effectively, it is strongly suggested that you peruse A Readers Guide to Play Sessions on The Old Bard, if you haven’t already.
To better grasp what I mean when I bring up Fate questions, you might find it useful to keep the Mythic Fate Chart accessible, potentially in a new window or tab in your browser.
In this first post of a multi-part series covering the session 0 of this new solo game, I’m mostly just announcing that I’m beginning preparations to play in it. I’m going to be using Mythic to emulate the game master aspects. We’ll see how well that works out.
You can read the other posts related to Session 0 by clicking the appropriate link below:
Beginning in 2002, Paizo took over publishing Dragon and Dungeon magazines, which were about the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game, under contract to the game’s publishers Wizards of the Coast. Wizards of the Coast chose not to renew the contract in early 2007 and Paizo began publishing the Pathfinder periodical line as a replacement. In August 2007, Wizards of the Coast announced the pending release of the 4th edition of D&D, which replaced version 3.5. Many of the staff at Paizo were concerned about the more restrictive Game System License under which the 4th edition was being released.
Instead of continuing to support D&D, Paizo released the stand-alone Pathfinder Roleplaying Game as a modified version of the version 3.5 game, under the Open Game License used by the older version. Announced in March 2008, Pathfinder was designed over the course of a year using an open playtest model, where players could try the system and post their feedback on Paizo’s website.
Paizo announced a second edition of Pathfinder in 2018. Like the first edition, it made use of an open playtest to refine various mechanics of gameplay. The final rule set was released on August 1, 2019
For an understanding as to how the gameplay unfolds, check out this video by Taking20 that covers the basics via an outlined overview within just under 16 minutes.
Bookkeeping
No bookkeeping for this one! But it’s time for me to go back through the core rulebook and prepare. In the next post, I’ll create my characters to begin the game.
Update 07/21/2023
I’ve decided that I’m going to wait for the release of the updated Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core, release in November 2023 before I begin a solo game for Pathfinder. You can read more about this project by clicking this following links:
Till next time!
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