How to follow-up Pathfinder? Improve the game, don’t radically change its character

Enlarge / The floor of Gen Con 2018... (credit: Aaron Zimmerman)

I've been an avid player of Pathfinder The Roleplaying Gamesince its first edition debuted back in 2008 at Gen Con, the great-grandsire of American tabletop conventions. So as I planned to attend Gen Con 2018 last fall, I had my sights set on one part of the schedule in particular. Pathfinder publisher Paizo, Inc. was launching a playtest for what will eventually become the second edition of their flagship title at Gen Con. I knew I wanted to be involved.

Back then, the schedule gods smiled upon me and I had the good fortune of being able to play in some of those first playtest scenarios at the convention. I ultimately played all three playtest scenarios that Paizo ran at Gen Con 2018, and soon after I played and ran most of "Doomsday Dawn," the mini-campaign that the company released last August as a companion to the other playtest materials. I've been following and participating in Paizo's massive months-long playtest ever since.

This week, Pathfinder Second Edition finally makes its official debut, as Paizo is set to release the game to the public at Gen Con 2019 (Ars is in attendance so keep your eyes peeled). That means, as players count down these last playtesting days, it's time to share some observations and impressions from weeks upon weeks of Pathfinder Second Editionexploration.

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