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I’m too stupid for “Pathfinder” 2e

So I got “Pathfinder 2nd Edition” recently, as part of a special Humble Bundle package they did earlier in the summer. Now I ran a lot of the original “Pathfinder” a few years back with my old gaming group, so when I saw I could effectively get the core rulebook (physical copy) for 50% off, plus a veritable fuckton of books for PF2e as digital PDF copies, I simply couldn’t turn it down.

Anyway, I got the physical book, as I said, and it is gorgeous. Which is to say, my wife got her physical copy of PF2e, because that’s how we apparently roll in this house, and I get the digital books. But that’s neither here nor there.

I’m not playing this.

As you may know, I’m doing a lot of solo tabletop roleplaying, because… circumstances. One thing I’m doing, as a part of this solo roleplaying, is playing a bunch of different games, because I’m not tied to any one specific campaign, as such can do “one-shot” adventures. This allows me to ‘scratch that itch’, when it comes to this game or that. Maybe one night I play some “Feng Shui 2”, the next “Mythos World”, and so on. In short, it’s fun, and I don’t have to worry about maintaining a cohesive storyline for a group of players, so I can do whatever I want.

That won’t be including “Pathfinder” 2e.

Like I said before, it’s a gorgeous game, and I’m glad we bought it. I expect I will spend many hours reading these books. Put I won’t be playing PF2e solo.

Why?

It’s too damn complicated!

Look, it comes down to this: I’m not just playing these games on my own, I’m recording these sessions for a podcast. Which means I have a lot more going on than just playing the game. This also means I not only need to be comfortable with the rules of said game, they have to be fairly simple and compact, so as to not bog things down.

PF2e is not simple. It is not compact. It is exactly the sort of game that would bog my show down to a grinding halt.

But I will say I respect Paizo for what they have done with PF2e. It is a massive, 600+ page behemoth of a core rulebook, chock full of rules, more rules, some very nice art, and still more rules. They could easily have broken this book up into two rulebooks, but chose instead to keep things all in one tome… well, except for what they didn’t include, like the Bestiaries, or Advanced rules, or Setting guides, and so on. But that’s neither here nor there. Most of what one might consider to be “The Core Game” are right here, in this one, massive tome.

That said, I think I would like to see one game someday come out and put everything, and I mean everything, into one book. Not just any game, mind you, I’m talking something with the scope of a “Dungeons & Dragons” 5e, or “Pathfinder” 2e. maybe all of the “Core Rulebooks”, in one massive, all-encompassing book.

Yes, it would be huge. Yes, it would be unwieldy. But as a longtime Game-Master, it would be awesome to pull out one, huge, spellbook-sized tome that literally includes everything you need to run the game. No skipping between this book or that, just all of the rules, in one, thicc-ass book!

Oh, wait. I just described “Dungeon World”, didn’t I?

Yeah, I plan on playing some of that for the podcast, in time. I have a lot of games to go through, so it will take a bit to get there, but I’ll make it. At least I won’t have PF2e standing in DW’s way.

Scormus
I'm the editor, publisher, and primary "talent" here at Scormey.com.
https://scormey.com

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