Pathfinder 1st Edition

A cooperative tabletop roleplaying game developed by Paizo following their break from Wizards of the Coast and parent company Hasbro, Pathfinder 1st Edition is the core game mechanism that this setting assumes is used to design characters and play games with. It was chosen for its many options for players and gamemasters, ready availability without the need to pay for it, compatibility with a wide range of 3rd Party content, and the setting creator's familiarity and likely intuitive manner in which most Dungeons & Dragons players can approach the system.
The 1st Edition of the Pathfinder can be understood as a continuation of Dungeons & Dragons' 3rd edition and it's 3.5 update, with which it is largely compatible. A relatively complex system notable for its wide range of player options and 3rd Party contributions, as well as its availability in the form of a very comprehensive system reference document (making it broadly accessible to anyone with an internet connection, regardless of their financial situation). As with its predecessor game it is a system that has seen extensive modification by the official publisher and the fanbase, giving rise to a variety of alternate rules, systems, subsystems, and genre-based mechanics. It is also known for being much more difficult to grasp than later editions of Dungeons & Dragons and other, simpler systems, and for suffering from what's known as an "Ivory Tower" problem, in which some character options and combinations thereof are simply less effective or otherwise undesirable than others, potentially resulting in characters that have difficulty contributing towards the groups goals and current activities. The base game is also notable for having relatively few "roleplaying" mechanisms; elements of character creation or play that encourage good characterization.
Category:Game Mechanics
Category:Meta
Category:Pathfinder 1st Edition