Brave New World
And before I get to that, I wanted to talk about epic battles in Pathfinder.
Epic Conflict in Pathfinder
In a previous column about 4E, I mentioned that I didn't think I could run epic battles in previous versions of D&D (and by extension, Pathfinder).
I was wrong.
I ran a combat in Pathfinder just two days ago that covered four large rooms and connecting passages in the goblin bramble fort from the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path volume 1. The battle flowed back and forth, with archers raining down death, spiders crawling over walls, and lines of battle shifting as the fortunes of war changed.
It blew away any battle I'd run in 4E and I was amazed. 4E battles are wondrous to behold if run properly and I didn't know Pathfinder could do the same thing. The players really enjoyed it because their tactical minds were set free to devise any strategy, any tactic to win the day. They enjoyed not feeling restrained to using powers or set terrain pieces. And as the GM I thoroughly enjoyed their enjoyment. Heck, one of the players even broke out into song to counter the Goblin Song the monsters were singing. It was glorious.
I think the versatility of Pathfinder is what changed combat for me. I can't say why exactly 3.5 battles never played out like this one did but maybe it comes down to the Goblin Song.
Paizo published the Goblin Song in that volume 1 AP along with the map and adventure I'd updated. Along with the dogslicer and horsechopper weapons the goblins use (they hate dogs and horses), those small roleplaying details really brought the goblins to life. They seemed real (if still remaining stupid little freaks) and they reacted in battle as goblins, not as a set of statistics on a battlemap.
When I used the Jawa "utini!" as a battle cry for the goblins, I thought one of my players was going to die laughing. Then, the goblins went after the cavalier's mount even when it made more sense to attack the cavalier himself. They tried to kill the barbarian's dog. And those assaults made the combat personal to the player characters, who in turn fought back harder, enraged by the attacks on their animals. And my singing the Goblin Song just added to the PCs' rage!
I was very happy to learn that even after a couple of decades of gaming, this GM can still learn new tricks.
Pathfinder and D&D 3.5
The Core Rulebook is a direct outgrowth of D&D 3.5. However, the rules differ in so many places that the Pathfinder RPG is really a new edition more than an updated version of 3.5.
I've played Pathfinder using both 3.5 rules as add-ons and with Pathfinder specific rules only (Paizo and third party). In my previous Pathfinder campaign, I used Al-Qadim (D&D 2E) alongside Green Ronin and Malhavoc Press (D&D 3.0 and 3.5) products with Pathfinder.
This campaign, I'm using Pathfinder only rules along with some Pathfinder world material created for 3.5. Not mixing the rules is much less confusing for my four new players, none of whom have played 3.5. It creates much less confusion for the brand new players, who don't have to juggle an out of print set of books with the new Pathfinder books.
Also, with the Advanced Player's Guide I have just about all the rules I would have wanted under one cover instead of spread out among many 3.5 books. I also know that these rules were designed with storytelling in mind and a close eye on keeping the game fun.
There are quite a few differences between Pathfinder and 3.5. If you combine supplements for both, you'll want to do some research and do some updating of the 3.5 material to get both systems to match. And even if you stick with just Pathfinder rules, DMs familiar with 3.5 will still have to learn some new things.
An example I ran into my game was negative hit points. I planned to have a player roll percentile to stabilize only to have another player inform me that stabilization rolls are now Constitution based. I like the new mechanic better since it isn't based on an arbitrary number, but it is slightly more complex as well as being a change I have to learn.
Picking a World
I considered three options when deciding on a world in which to set my Pathfinder game. If I created my own setting, I would be free to do whatever I like. However, my players are fans of existing D&D worlds and that presented a challenge.
I could have taken a 3.5 version of Eberron or the Forgotten Realms and updated them to Pathfinder. I saw many drawbacks to this approach including the fact that these books are out of print and more challenging for my newest players to find as well as the conversion issue. If I decide at some point to convert a world to Pathfinder, I would keep the flavor of the world while adapting the rules rather than make a straight conversion.
For example, if I ran a Pathfinder Eberron I'd replace the artificer with the alchemist and the warforged with the ironborn. I'd need to create some new class feature options for the alchemist to allow for more building of magic items, but I'd take Pathfinder and modify rather than build an artificer class from scratch.
The easiest route to take I decided, since I wasn't going to create my own world, was simply to use Golarion, the world that Paizo created to support their Adventure Path series. While the setting is currently designed with 3.5 rules, it is being updated with a player's guide in November of 2010 and a large hardcover early next year.
Currently, the setting has 69 products out or upcoming using the PF ruleset (not including the six rulebooks) as well as four novels. There are also several free short stories about the world available on Paizo's website. There are also dozens of products for the world using the 3.5 ruleset.
Golarion has forty nations described in general so far and several have large amounts of details developed, although you have to dig a little. For example, Varisia is a more generic D&D like setting (city-states surrounded by wild lands, much like the city of Greyhawk). Between the first adventure path, numbers 1-6, set in Varisia to two city books (Korvosa in 3.5 and Kaer Maga for PF), and a 1st-level module set in Kaer Maga, there are plenty of existing details to get a campaign started.
Deciding on the First Adventure
Three viable options for running adventures in Pathfinder jumped out at me. I prefer to write my own adventures, and I found I could really cut down on the work by borrowing NPCs, maps, and locations from various Paizo products. The GameMastery Guide has a couple of dozen common NPCs statted up and getting one adventure path book of the level I was planning to run provided more NPCs along with new monsters, maps, and an occasional new magic item or spell.
If you want a less rigid campaign but don't want to create all the adventures yourself, you can use the modules Paizo provides. A trilogy of modules (Crypt of the Everflame, Masks of the Living God, and City of Golden Death) can take a campaign from 1st level to around 6th level. There are three modules available after that to choose from if you want to continue using modules. The highest level adventure published so far is for 17th level characters and another 1st level adventure is being published this year.
The final option is to pick an adventure path and have almost all the work done for you. For the busy GM, an adventure path gives you all the advantages of really quick prep time combined with the benefit of an in-depth world, built in story hooks for your PCs, and quite a few different storylines to choose from depending on which adventure path you run.
Next Month
As I finish writing this month's column, I'm wrestling with which direction to take my home campaign next. The group I'm part of is amazing and Pathfinder is a wonderful system, but something new has caught my attention and won't let go. I'm trying to determine if I'm suffering from shiny object syndrome (it's new, it's shiny, let's try a new game!) or if I should talk to the group about the new idea.
The last time I had a really strong gut feeling was right before my last group folded. I kept getting the feeling that 4E wasn't right for the players, but I hung in there. And everything collapsed soon after. In the next couple of days, I have to make a recommendation to the whole group based on the direction I feel I'm being led. But I haven't received an answer just yet.
Whatever the group and I decide, I'll start detailing a new world for the column next month. Either Magnimar for Pathfinder or something brand new and shiny.
See ya next month,
Charlie
