There's been a lot of praise for Paizo releasing the Beginner's Box as an easier entry point for Pathfinder. Paizo has stated on their forums that they have no intention of continuing the line. Rather, once you are done with the box, you are expected to graduate to the big leagues. In this case the 500 page tome.
Should Paizo continue expanding upon the BB? In my mind, yeah, they should.
It reminds me of Advanced Squad Leader and the Starter Kits they released. For those who don't know about ASL, it's a very complex and complete set of wargame rules for WWII gaming. The main rule book was about 150 pages of dense rules information set in a three ring binder. The ASL starter kits were MMP's way of distilling the basics of ASL into a 10-15 page rule set.
MMP was saying that the SK's were an entry path to full blown ASL, not another system. However, people really enjoyed the SK's and found that they liked playing with out the rest of the rulebook. After a while, MMP began to release SK only items due to the demand.
They gave a lot of people what they were asking for- a high production simplified intro box set well worth the money, but don't seem to be moving forward with it. I get the feeling that Paizo didn't miss the boat, but maybe got in the wrong one. What are your thoughts?
Not having a big dog in the fight, I concur. They should have an "expert set" for Pathfinder. I don't think it should veer off like "Basic & Expert" of D&D did, where they were their own thing (although per Gary that was actually a financial Win since there was much, much cross pollination and double-dip sales), but it certainly wouldn't hurt them. If they put it in the more square box they could throw minis in, too...but again, I don't have a dog in that fight.
The Pathfinder beginner box is the ONLY Pathfinder material I own. I have no real interest in the full bloated 3.5ish version.
I would love to see expanded material and adventures for the basic box along with an expert set. Pathfinder and Dragon Age have been the only basic sets done right in a long time.
I'd like to see a rules-lite version of the beginner set. It was still too heavy for me.
But to answer the question, yes I think they should, and no I don't think they will.
Quote from: Exploderwizard;614285The Pathfinder beginner box is the ONLY Pathfinder material I own. I have no real interest in the full bloated 3.5ish version.
I would love to see expanded material and adventures for the basic box along with an expert set. Pathfinder and Dragon Age have been the only basic sets done right in a long time.
Same here, although I will note that both 0one Games (Basic Path series) and Adventureaweek.com (BASIC series) have published additional adventures for the Beginner Box.
Quote from: Technomancer;614288I'd like to see a rules-lite version of the beginner set. It was still too heavy for me.
Have you taken a look at BareBones Fantasy RPG yet? It's very rules-lite, but quite complete.
Not really, Paizo's goal is to create an introduction to their game along with accessories that you'll want to buy, not create a B/X vs. AD&D line.
If they create an "Expert" set, I'm sure that people will snatch it up, but at the risk that players will never switch to the Pathfinder Core and other books.
Quote from: Yong_Kyosunim;614307Not really, Paizo's goal is to create an introduction to their game along with accessories that you'll want to buy, not create a B/X vs. AD&D line.
If they create an "Expert" set, I'm sure that people will snatch it up, but at the risk that players will never switch to the Pathfinder Core and other books.
And once again, we're running into that issue of what sounds like sound game design versus what sells products on the short term.
Quote from: Yong_Kyosunim;614307Not really, Paizo's goal is to create an introduction to their game along with accessories that you'll want to buy, not create a B/X vs. AD&D line.
If they create an "Expert" set, I'm sure that people will snatch it up, but at the risk that players will never switch to the Pathfinder Core and other books.
Would such players really be happy, satisfied Core customers? If they don't really want the Core, but are forced to buy it because they don't have the alternative, I think they're more likely to just quit playing.
One key difference of the Pathfinder Beginner's Box from the old B/X is that it is fully compatible with the core Pathfinder rules. That means that there is no difference between a regular module for 1st - 3rd level characters and a beginner module for 1st - 3rd level characters. Given this, I think that an Expert Set is a good idea.
Trying to bundle your rules to force people to buy things that they don't want is a bad idea.
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. A second set that went up to level 10 would be perfect. Easy to use and a nice emulation of classic 0e/1e/2e and Moldvay/Cook.
There is a huge opening in the market for a stripped down system that focuses like a laser on the core D&D experience. One that is fully compatible with Pathfinder is even better.
I think the full-on Pathfinder system is perfectly fine for an ongoing campaign, particularly if many of the players have a bent for customization. But for one-shots, casual players, or infrequently meeting groups? It's probably too much.
Even for an ongoing game, if you added in all of the extra bits from the Advanced Class and Race guides, the Ultimate combat and magic books, you've drifted pretty far from the traditional human/elf/dwarf/halfling and fighter/cleric/thief/magic-user matrix. It's not necessarily a bad game at all, but it sure is a different one from classic D&D, and pretty damned complex one to run.
I would much prefer to start with a very simple base system, and then selectively pull in limited elements from these expansions. Alchemist? OK. Gunslinger? No. Catfolk? OK. Drow? Fuck no. So on and so forth.
Quote from: Yong_Kyosunim;614307Not really, Paizo's goal is to create an introduction to their game along with accessories that you'll want to buy, not create a B/X vs. AD&D line.
If they create an "Expert" set, I'm sure that people will snatch it up, but at the risk that players will never switch to the Pathfinder Core and other books.
I think their goal is to make money, and one method they chose was an intro version intended to guide people along to the full version. But, I'd think if there is demand for more of the intro game, then that meets their goal of making more money, right? Their intentions shouldn't get in the way of their goals.