Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook [Hardcover]

Jason Bulmahn (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2009 | Series: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

This complete, standalone, fantasy roleplaying game takes your fantasy campaigns to new heights of adventure! Backward-compatible with 3.5 fantasy rules but offering new solutions and options that place it firmly on the cutting edge, the Pathfinder RPG is the culmination of the largest open public playtest in RPG history. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook includes: revised rules for the classic seven fantasy RPG races; updated options for the 11 core classes; a streamlined skill system that makes things easier for players and GMs; a host of new and familiar feats, including innovative combat feats and item creation rules; new equipment; additional combat options; overhauled rules for domains, familiars, bonded items, specialty schools, and more; dozens of new and revised spells; updated rules for NPCs, including quick-generation rules; new rules for curses, diseases, and poisons; a completely overhauled experience system with options for slow, medium, and fast advancement; hundreds and hundreds of magic items... and much, much more!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Paizo Publishing, LLC. (August 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601251505
• ISBN-13: 978-1601251503
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.8 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (240 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Gaming

More About the Author

Jason Bulmahn is the Lead Designer of Paizo Publishing and the author of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He has worked for Paizo since 2004 and has contributed to dozens of books for both Paizo and Wizards of the Coast. His work has won one Origins Awards and eleven ENnies.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

240 of 249 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pen & Paper Games Review of Pathfinder RPG August 21, 2009

By Robert A. Howard

Format:Hardcover

Weighing in at nearly five pounds and spanning over 576 pages, the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook combines all of the rules that were previously split between the D&D 3.5 Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. It is everything that you are going to need to play except for the Pathfinder Bestiary, which is not scheduled to be released until October 2009. Until then, you'll need to break out your old 3.5 edition monster manuals or use the monsters in the d20 SRD. You can download the SRD for free over at wizards.com, or for an easy to use online version, check out the Hypertext d20 SRD online at [...]

* The Core Classes of Pathfinder *
Paizo put a lot of effort into spicing up all of the original 3.5e classes with new and exciting abilities. Many of the classes now have multiple paths that a player can follow to help make distinguish their character from the teeming masses of other adventurers of the same class. This is very reminiscent of what Fourth Edition did, and it is one of the things I really liked. You'll especially see this featured with the druid, cleric, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, and wizard classes.

I was also impressed by how much the game rewards the player who sticks it out and levels his character through all twenty levels of his core class. In the past, there has often been very little incentive (or sense in some cases) to do so. With Pathfinder, not only does your character receive an extra hitpoint or skill-point every level just for leveling in his favored class, but the game does an excellent job of providing all kinds of cool abilities at the highest levels.... Many of the classes have awesome payouts for making it all the way to twentieth, including:

- For Barbarians there is "Mighty Rage," which gives them an impressive +8 morale bonus to Strength and Constitution while they are raging.
- Bards are able to give a performance so stirring that they can cause their target to simply die from overwhelming joy or sorrow using their "Deadly Performance."
- High level druids are no longer fettered by their natural forms, and can transform themselves at will with no limits on the number of times per day.
- Fighters gain "Weapon Mastery," with one weapon. Thereafter, whenever using his chosen weapon, all critical threats are automatically confirmed, their critical multiplier increases, and the fighter no longer has to worry about being disarmed - ever.
- The monk eventually ascends to the point of becoming a magical creature, gaining a healthy damage resistance (10/chaotic). Oh, and he'll now be opening that can of whoop-ass with seven attacks per round with an attack bonus that nearly rivals the fighter's.
- Paladins who stay the course of righteousness become "Holy Champions" of their gods, gaining a substantial damage resistance and the ability to possibly banish any evil outsider who is his smite opponent. (By the way, if you haven't read about the paladin's new smite and mercy abilities already, you'll want to check them out. This is one of the classes that they really spent a lot of time on, and they have succeeded at making the paladin an extremely valuable asset to your team!)
- The twentieth level ranger isn't someone you are going to want on your tail when he achieves the status of "Master Hunter." He'll now be able to track his favored enemies while moving at full speed, and when he does catch up with him, her, or it, he can execute a single attack that has the chance of slaying his target outright.
- Meanwhile the rogue gains "Master Strike," which allows him to possibly put his target to sleep (if he's feeling nice), paralyze his target (if he's feeling not-so-nice), or assassinate his target on the spot (if he's feeling really pissed off).

* The System *
Overall, Pathfinder plays and feels like classic Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. There are a few subtle, but very helpful enhancements to problematic and hard to remember rules. The simplification and rebalancing of all of the rules surrounding grappling, tripping, sundering, and bull-rushing into one unified system, for example, means no more having to flip open the book to figure out how to resolve these actions every time they come up --while wishing hellfire and brimstone upon the head of your player's monk, no doubt.

Skills have been cleaned up, consolidating some and completely removing others. This will make it much easier for your character to focus on a core set of skills that really matter to him.

Spells seem relatively unchanged from their previous versions with a few notable exceptions, such as with polymorph being split into multiple distinct spells. The biggest difference I noticed was cleric domains, which got a very nice overhaul. Oh, and cleric fans, your new group heal class feature is going to let you actually be able to use more of your spells for something other than healing even at low levels - "Divine Favor" anyone?

* Using Pathfinder with Other d20 Products *
Although there have been a lot of enhancements to the classes and tweaks to the rules, the Pathfinder RPG remains compatible with other OGL/3.5 supplements. This is a big selling point for Pathfinder, as there is already an extensive library of supporting products. The core classes in Pathfinder are a little more powerful than their third edition predecessors, so if you're using monsters from other sources, you may need to adjust their challenge ratings down just a smidge. There are no specific guidelines in the final rules, but the beta version suggested adding a few extra feats, powers, skills and hitpoints to your villains; adding more monsters to your encounter; or otherwise building encounters as about one challenge rating level higher. I suspect this advice still holds true.

There are a couple of other on-the-fly changes you will need to make when using third party sources. Some skills have been combined or changed, so you'll need to be familiar with the new skill list and determine the equivalent skill in Pathfinder. The rules for grappling and other maneuvers such as tripping, bull rushing, and sundering have also changed. This means that you'll need to determine the Combat Maneuver Attack and Defense scores for any 3.5e creatures you use. Luckily, these statistics are pretty straightforward to figure out.

* Artwork and Print Quality *
Cover to cover, this is a visually appealing book, with all of the artwork presented in full color. The inserts between chapters are especially amazing; I would love to have some of these as posters in my gaming room. Flowing watermarks swirl around the edges of each page, giving the book an ornate feel without obscuring the text or making it difficult to read. The binding also feels sturdy, which is necessary for this many pages. Out of curiosity, I gave the text a good rub to see if it shared any of the notorious smudging problems of Fourth Edition, and I was relieved to find that it did not.

* My Thoughts *
The one thing that I think this book really could have been improved by was more callouts. As a longtime player of Third Edition, I tend to want to skim over the parts that seem familiar and go straight to the changes. I started to do this with this book, and found immediately when I made my first character that I had missed a well-hidden rule that explained how first level hitpoints were generated. It had been tucked away in the terms and definitions section which I had been quick to skip over. With so many subtle changes to the rules, callouts that pointed out key changes from 3.5e would have made jumping into this new edition a lot easier.

Nonetheless, after having played a couple of sessions using the final rules, I could scarcely be happier with what Paizo has done. The rules flowed nicely, and most importantly kept out of the way until needed. Combat was also quick and easy, and the Pathfinder RPG has made it easier than ever to keep the action flowing without a lot of downtime. This system is an excellent choice for any fantasy setting, and I am confident that if you enjoyed Third Edition, you're really going to love what they've done with this game. Read more ›

80 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid work built on D&D 3.5 August 21, 2009

By hans zurcher VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If you are familiar with 3.x branch of Dungeon & Dragons then you'll already have a firm grasp of the Pathfinder RPG. Some are even calling it D&D 3.75E---which is not far from the truth. Much has already been written about D&D 3.x so I'll keep this short and simple.

First the book itself comprises both Players Hand Book and GM Guide which makes a very big book. It's logically organized with a concise Table of Contents and Index so information should not be hard to find. There is some nice consistent art work but not so much that it distracts from the content.

One of Pathfinder's design goals was to make it compatible with 3.5E rules---so we can keep our extensive 3.5 Edition libraries with minimal conversion effort, in this it succeeds pretty well. Classes, skills, feats, spells, prestige classes are quick and easy to upgrade. Most monsters can be converted by just calculating Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) and Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD). Don't take my word for it, the Paizo website has a free 3.5 Conversion Guide PDF that covers simple guidelines for making most any kind of conversion.

The Core Classes have cool new options and seem very well balanced. I'm specially enamored with some of the new options for the wizard ( which has always been my favored class ).

The rules for skills and feats have been nicely streamlined.

Combat has been simplified with a new single mechanic which allows for clarified special attacks (grapple, disarm, trip, etc).

A reworked experience system allows for slow, medium, and fast character advancement (My players and I really like the ability to control and fine tune the tempo of a campaign).

With Pathfinder, rules for the 3....5 Edition have been expanded, simplified and clarified but are still very much part of the whole 3.x Edition line.

So if you had a good experience with Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, maybe have a large library of 3.5 material and you are looking forward to the future support of Paizo and third party publishers then Pathfinder may be the RPG for you.

In my opinion, it rocks! Read more ›

84 of 96 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual successor to Dungeons & Dragons October 7, 2009

By Thom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Before I begin, let it be known that I think people are putting too much emphasis on this whole "4th Edition vs. Pathfinder" argument. I am sick of hearing about the pros and cons of both systems, usually written by people who have no idea what they are talking about.

If an RPG is fun, and capable of entertaining a group of people for any extended period of time, then it has succeeded in doing what it was made to do. I have been a Dungeon Master for going on two decades now, I cut my teeth on 2nd edition AD&D, and I have experience with every type of player and Game Master that one could imagine. Most of my games have been run using the 3rd Edition D&D rules, but I do occasionally run Paranoia and Call of Cthulhu campaigns.

Pathfinder is an RPG that not only stands on its own, it also meshes nicely with the D20 product line. What this means is, with very minimal effort a person such as myself who has access to a library of D20 books can plug the Pathfinder rules into them. The Core Rulebook has a dual role of serving as both the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide; meaning that it is really all one needs in order to start playing. (Other than dice, character sheets, and friends to play with of course.)

What really sells me on Pathfinder is that despite the upgrades and changes to every class and character race, it still manages to keep that good old Dungeons & Dragons feeling. The artwork in this book is simply beautiful, and a vast improvement over some previous editions. Being the graybeard that I am about RPGs I usually don't go for the more modern digital art, but the artists clearly kept that sort of grungy dungeon crawl nostalgia to heart when they worked on this project.... Many modern RPGs tend to force the popular anime elements down our throats when it comes to artwork, but in this case the classic D&D adventure springs to life from every page in ways I didn't think possible with a digital medium. Wayne Reynolds may not hold the same place in my heart as Elmore, Caldwell, Easley, Parkinson, or Brom; but damn if he didn't do an excellent job bringing this book to life. Bravo sir!

The pages are laid out simply, and new bolder text makes them easier to read than ever before. I really like the way that each Magic Spell is headed by a bar that separates it from the other spells in the chapter. I have hosted a few Pathfinder games by now, and none of the pages have smudged or faded from use. It's also nice how little things (like the Monk's flurry of blows attack) are often calculated and placed in the chapters where they are most pertinent. Simple things throughout this book make it easier to navigate, especially while a game is going on. I hate when the game is interrupted because someone can't find an obscure rule that is buried in the back of a rulebook. The Pathfinder index has kept such instances to a minimum.

Before this product was even launched, some called the rules system "munchkiny" and overpowered. After actually playing this system for a few games I denounce such claims as foolish and misinformed. If anything, the Pathfinder system polices itself and keeps power-gaming to much lower levels than what I saw with 3rd Edition D&D. The flow of Skill Points is now limited by the current Hit Dice of the players; and that silly half-a-skill point rule from 3rd Edition is long gone. Players are rewarded with skill bonuses when they place points in Class Skills, and not punished when placing points in Cross-Class skills. Players also receive a Feat every other level now, which I applaud because it encourages players to customize their characters more fully. Some may claim that this is insanely overpowered, but I would point out that many of the more powerful Feats are limited by Class Level or Attack Bonus. A player cannot simply become a whirling death machine by choosing the right Feats at a low level. Instead players are given more of a chance to show love to some Feats that have been long neglected, such as Skill Focus and the riding Feats; all of which have been revamped and made awesome by this system.

Each race and character class has been given an overhaul. Sorcerers and Wizards got the biggest changes in my opinion and damn if I don't love it. Sorcerers get to choose a "Bloodline" at 1st level that determines the source of their power; making each Bloodline like an awesome mini-class in and of itself. Wizards are given powerful abilities when they choose which magical school to specialize in, even the Universalist who can now throw melee weapons and have them return in a manner not-unlike the Glaive from Krull. It seems like every class is all about the options and what your character can aspire to is limited only by your imagination. Players are often given the chance to trade out some of the more "useless" perks (like familiars and animal companions who never see the light of day) for weapon improvements or additional powers.

The classic races seem a lot less insulting in Pathfinder. Half-Orcs are no longer forced to be stupid, instead they can choose which stat to place a bonus into, just like Humans and Half-Elves. They also get the cool ability to fight on while mortally wounded due to their fierce heritage. Half-elves no longer feel like a wasted race, as they are the only ones who can choose two favored classes; an ability that no other race has. Even Gnomes are given a face-lift with the magic of their bloodlines setting them far apart from Halflings and Dwarves. (By the way, there are several players in my games that have Gnome characters. The "I'm a monster RAWR!" add campaign is not funny, nor does it make me wish to spend money on a new rules system. I'd rather play a Gnome than a dragon man or the newest flavor of Elf. )

In short, I bought Pathfinder, and I am glad I did. My old 3rd Edition campaigns are as alive today as they were 5 years ago and I look forward to seeing what Paizo has to offer with future products. If you feel that this system is overpowered, I suggest that you give it a chance, play a game or two, and then decide based upon the effect it has on play. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised. Read more ›