There's a dozen other RPGs I could have used as well, but Pathfinder is the meme one.
this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2026
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I mean, Pathfinder is literally D&D with a few changes.
Specifically, it’s DND 3.5e with some changes.
So, you have the best full version of DND (3.0) with all the changes made to make the system function the way it was intended and be much more balanced (3.5), with another total revision to balance, the introduction of many new mechanics, over a decade of new content, and an active publisher who makes massive use of the OGL (PF 1.0).
That's Pathfinder 1e though. Pathfinder 2e is even better in my opinion because it takes what was good from 1e (the world, the customization options, ...) and simplifies play enormously for both the GM and the players to be much more beginner friendly.
I never played DnD 4e but afaik, some of the greatest changes of PF2e have been in DND 4e before and didn't make it to DnD 5e.
PF2.0 isn’t for me or my tables, with a few exceptions. We want the crunch. I really appreciate what Paizo did with 2.0, but it’s not a game for me.
Same. We love the nerdy minutia, leading to inevitable rules lawyering. Keeps the game fresh and surprising
D&D 3.75e
Incorrect. The best D&D edition is 4E, and that's why Draw Steel is the best not-D&D.
This sure is a take.
Surely one of the most takes of all times.
Nah, beat version is Balder's Gate 3 system :p
Less so in 2e, but yeah.
God I love 2e, I know it isn't as popular as 1e for the hardcore crowd but for actually giving new people who only know DnD something with more substance and interesting character building choice, it is absolutely awesome. I'm also not a big fan of everything stacking like crazy in 1e so there is that.
I'm a PF2e fan who came from PF1e (we do exist!), and one of my favorite parts is that there aren't really any unviable build options, from either a player side or a GM side. Sure, there are combinations that are more optimal than others, but a player's going to be able to have fun and contribute meaningfully with just about any ancestry/class combination. And since the encounter math actually works, pretty much any mathematically-correct combination of monsters a GM throws at a party will probably present the desired challenge.
So, yes! Agreed.
Yeah! As a forever DM I'm happy the group I'm with now agreed to switch to PF2E when I said I wanted to do Season of Ghosts (still running it 2 years later). The encounter math is so much more consistent and I don't feel like I need to change anything. I am also blessed with no power-gamers so we happily do free-archetype for roleplay reasons. Don't feel any reasons to switch any time soon, though I am a bit worried about paizo as a company. They may be bigger than pretty much all other indie groups but they've definitely had a rough patch lately.
Agreed about Paizo. Actually I worry that the fact they are so particularly-sized meant that they took a bigger-than-usual hit from the Diamond thing; they're big enough that a substantial chunk of their business was probably FLGS business, meaning that it went through Diamond: a smaller company like Kobold Press potentially does more direct-to-consumer sales, while WotC is big enough to handle their own distribution.
I don't know any of that, mind. Just a bunch of guesses.
But the name is pretty dumb. You know what you're getting with D&D. Dungeons, Dragons, probably a fantasy world. Pathfinder is... you go hiking? I have no idea.
It's named after the main adventuring guild in the world, the Pathfinder Society. Which is also the name of Paizo's irl community
What's a Paizo?
That's the company that makes Pathfinder and Starfinder, another tabletop roleplaying game in a scifi setting using Pathfinder's rules
Thanks
It's the small device in your BBQ lighter that produces electricity when you hit it, but that's not important right now!
A "Pathfinder" isn't just hiking. It's a person who goes first into the unknown to make the path so others may follow. It's a name for an adventurer/traveler or another way to say "Trailblazer".
You can’t be serious, right?
I am serious. And don't call me Right.
But I've never played Pathfinder so I'm just basing my opinion on the name. I've heard good things about it.
I mean, the three action system alone puts it over DND, imho.