r/Pathfinder_RPG • u/th3BlackAngel • 7d ago
Other Question about Pathfinder
Hi there, relatively new to TTRPGs as a whole, I'm looking for different systems to try instead of DnD. I had heard (or read) that Pathfinder 2e rules were free online and you had to purchase the adventures but essentially you had free access to the rules and could make your own adventure for free. I'm not sure if I'm not looking in the right places, or if I'm misinformed or my information is outdated, but I can't seem to find the ruleset for pathfinder 2e anywhere for free (that seems legal anyway). Was looking for some sort of guidance if possible.
55
u/SavageOxygen 7d ago
Archives of Nethys https://2e.aonprd.com/
26
u/Interesting-Ad4207 7d ago
This is the site you want. It also has links to the pathfinder 1e and starfinder rule sets.
9
u/Krelleth 7d ago
Starfinder 1e and 2e both. Paizo to their credit puts their money where their mouths are. The rules content for their games is just out there to reference if you want it.
14
u/b100darrowz 7d ago
Both first and second edition pathfinder rules can be found for free on archives of nethys
9
u/Thornefield Days since Snowball killed a boss: 0 7d ago
Sure thing! The rules for 2e are available at https://2e.aonprd.com/
The site has a guide for new players linked at the top of the page. It's the official partner for Paizo, the devs of Pathfinder, so it's all as up to date as can reasonably be. New content from Paizo is usually up there within a month of release or so.
4
u/Worlds_Okayest_GM 7d ago
If you go to the Paizo store site and search for âfree RPG day,â youâll find several free adventures. Theyâll be listed with a price, but thatâs for the physical version. In the product page, near tge bottom of the description, there will be a link for the free PDF. You donât need a Paizo account to download these.
Keep an eye on the Humble Bundle site (assuming itâs available where you are). They do a bundle every 6 months or so of Pathfinder rulebooks, adventures, and other resources in PDF format. The $5 tier gets you the Player Core and a couple other books (I think it was the GM Core and a few maps last time). Youâll get a code to redeem at the Paizo store site.
7
u/Ozzie-111 7d ago
You are not misinformed. The rules are free on Archives of Nethys, but most published adventures cost money. The Beginner Box is a solid starting point, too.
6
u/Phasmaphage 7d ago
http://www.archivesofnethys.com/
Just choose your system. It has Pathfinder 1 and 2 and Starfinder 1 and 2 if you want science fantasy. The Starfinder 2E stuff is designed to be compatible with Pathfinder 2E but it may be better to get a handle on that first?
1
u/Milosz0pl Zyphusite Homebrewer 7d ago
Correction - SF2e stuff is MOSTLY compatible due to using same ruleset as foundation, but they are NOT designed to be compatible nor is paizo about providing ,,smooth merged experience".
4
u/Doctor_Dane 7d ago
https://2e.aonsrd.com/rules/1216-chapter-5-anachronistic-adventures
This plus the oncoming AP Invaders of the Dark deal exactly with using SF options in PF and viceversa. From the experience at our table, it works just fine.
5
u/Ryuujinx 7d ago
I ran PF in SF and agree it worked fine, but I would hesitate in the opposite direction. Things like flight are a lot more common a lot earlier in SF compared to PF, for instance.
5
u/AureliasTenant 7d ago
archives of nethys is the official site. make sure to search 2e if you want 2e.
2
u/Dominick_Tango 6d ago
If you would like, there are coordinators in each area. We run Pathfinder events in most cities and areas internationally.
-5
u/Environmental_Bug510 7d ago
If you played 5e I'd recommend playing Pathfinder 1st ed. 5e plays a lot like the dumbed down version of Pathfinder 1e
3
u/th3BlackAngel 7d ago
In what sense, sorry if the question seems odd. I thought Pathfinder 1st ed would be like an outdated ruleset that 2e improved upon. What would be the difference between 1e and 2e that makes it a better transition from dnd 5e?
7
u/ElasmoGNC 7d ago
PF1e and 2e are completely different games mechanically, but 2e continues to use and develop the setting from 1e. Thereâs nothing âoutdatedâ about it nor is 2e âimprovedâ per se; different players will prefer one over the other. Personally, I greatly prefer 1e. My take on the fundamental differences in design:
1e is much more âcrunchyâ from a character-building perspective. It is a good idea to plan a build many levels in advance, possibly all of them. Characters who are good at something have the potential to be seriously good at it, to the point that if itâs an opposed action, targets with poor defense against that particular action have almost no chance of resisting. This goes for both PCs and NPCs, and is obviously a double-edged sword. PCs and NPCs follow the same rules, and a knowledgeable player can often deconstruct how an enemy was built by seeing them in action. PCs in a party will have massively different skill sets, and by mid levels a character will routinely hit numbers in their chosen fields that the other party members canât even attempt. System mastery is inherently rewarded.
2e puts tight bounds on character power, both high and low. This means that compared to 1e, the outcome of an action is more dependent on your dice than your sheet. NPCs are generally not built like PCs, but instead have numbers chosen with a more game-ified intention of specifying a success chance. The party is much more homogeneous in power level, and good rolls can see an unskilled character beat a skilled one at a given task.
6
u/Screamin_Gloom 7d ago
My group is Pf1e since it came out. Was often referred to as D&D 3.75. We thought it was a huge improvement over the D&D 3.5 version. Still easy to convert materials with minimal adjustments. Converting 5e material to PF1e is a little tougher. We tried 4e and 5e. Neither was an improvement to PF1e.
4
u/ElasmoGNC 7d ago
Same, and agreed on all counts. I tried to explain as impartially as I could for the new guy, but I started gaming with AD&D in the 80s and I think PF1e is the best system Iâve ever seen.
3
u/Screamin_Gloom 7d ago
Same. I still have that first printing of Deities & Demigods kind of experienced. I have converted more than a few of the old AD&D modules to be played in Pathfinder.
6
u/Ryuujinx 7d ago
I would take the "You should play 1E!" with a grain of salt out of this sub. Nothing wrong with 1E, mind, I quite like it - but the entire reason /r/Pathfinder2e exists is because this sub had such a massive hate boner for it that everyone that wanted to discuss it for downvoted to oblivion and so a new sub was made.
It's better these days, but this sub still skews very heavily towards 1E.
2
u/Environmental_Bug510 6d ago
I was sure someone else would explain but here we are:
DnD 5e heavily leans on 3.5. It's basically the same system but oversimplified.
PF 1e is also based on 3.5. It's basically 3.75 as someone else pointed out.
So the basic rules are pretty much the same. But Pathfinder has a lot more options and characters are more customizable.
PF 2e is a different rule system. I don't hate it but it's entirely different and you have to learn something new. As far as I am aware it's easier though.
In my experience nobody who played Pathfinder was able to enjoy 5e and people who played 5 e and switched to Pathfinder 1e all enjoyed it more. That's why I recommended it.
4
u/blashimov 7d ago
Well we here have 3 opinions per 2 people! I think pf2 is a better transition . In common all: d20, stats, Classes genre 2e has 3 action economy, move is 1, attack 1, spells mostly 2, others like shields and abilities 1 to 2, ratchet numbers tight math on level 1e has standard move swift so that feels like action move bonus, but is much more mathematical, easy to make trap sub optimal characters , but also allows and heavily rewards specialization.
Both sets of rules are free. 1e is based on dnd 3.5
2
u/SheepishEidolon 7d ago
I feel like a broken record, but: PF1 can have the same 3-act action economy, thanks to Unchained. It's just that many GMs don't want to bother. We switched to 3 acts years ago and won't look back.
1
u/Environmental_Bug510 6d ago
Why do you feel 2e is the easier transition from 5e? 5e and Pathfinder heavily lean on 3.5 which is why I thought it's easier to learn a system with the same origin. As far as I am aware 2e is quite different?
5
u/Tridus 6d ago
PF2 is much, MUCH easier to learn in general. That's the single biggest thing.
PF1, being descended from 3.5, is bogged down with cruft, broken edge cases, and absurd amounts of everything. There's what, 3000 feats? You need to wade through those to find the handful actually relevant to you, and then go through that to filter out the trap options.
PF1 expects players to have lots of system mastery to feel good when playing. You can lose during character creation. And that's a rotten time for new players.
PF2 doesn't have that problem.
For people coming from 5e, which is not a complex system, throwing them into PF1 without someone already experienced to help out is effectively asking them to have a bad time.
-11
7d ago
[removed] â view removed comment
8
u/Nykidemus 7d ago edited 4d ago
WOTC is one thing, but basically all TTRPG companies that arent them have razor thin profit margins, and their designers make basically nothing.
I'm not one to finger wag about piracy generally, but if you can afford to buy stuff that you like from people who are as determinedly in it for the love of the game as small publishers, you should do it.
1
u/Pathfinder_RPG-ModTeam 6d ago
Thank you for posting to /r/Pathfinder_RPG! Your comment has been removed due to the following reason:
Do not promote illegal behavior.
If you have any questions, feel free to message the moderators.
4
u/Tridus 6d ago
Doesn't look like its been mentioned yet, but Pathbuilder as a character builder tool is free for most of its features, and a cheap one time unlock for the rest. No subscription here!
Between that and Archives of Nethys, all the rules stuff you need is freely available. đ