Almost every aspect of character development and, thus, encounter building are affected by the system’s poor balance. Poor Balance: The d20 System in general is tilted too far in favor of certain character options over other character options.It’s lead to a system rich with options but overly complicated, poorly balanced, and generally inconsistent. It’s not a modular system – it’s like a software package without an API – things are connected randomly wherever they fit. Overwhelmed Infrastructure: The d20 System was not designed for the wealth of material that was created for it.Standard, Move, Full Round, Swift, Attack, and Free somehow end up a lot more complicated than they need to be. Action Economy: The action economy in the d20 System is increasingly complicated, unbalanced in favor of casters, and unwieldy for new players.Since I’m looking to upgrade from Pathfinder First Edition to Pathfinder Second Edition it makes sense to outline why I’d switch from a system I’ve enjoyed and know inside/out. I’ve played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and Pathfinder over the years. A skilled Game Master can easily counterbalance the weaknesses inherit to the system but wouldn’t it be nice if they didn’t have to? Enter the Pathfinder Second Edition Playtest. There are a lot of strengths to this family of systems but, as decades passed, they’ve started to feel dated. In my mind, this includes Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition, Dungeons & Dragons 3.5, d20 Modern, d20 Future, Pathfinder, and Starfinder. I’ve roleplayed using a myriad of systems over the years – freeform, GURPS, Fate Core, White Wolf, various homebrew, Mouseguard, etc – but the “ d20 System” has definitely seen the most action. There are some missteps but it’s an impressive leap forward from the increasingly dated d20 System. It’s streamlined for faster/easier play and has much better balance while supporting an even greater depth of character options. The short review is that I love the approach that Paizo is taking with Pathfinder Second Edition. I’ll be offering additional thoughts after running playtest sessions but I want to get some of this out of my head while it’s fresh. This will serve as my initial “I read through the rulebook twice” review of the Pathfinder Second Edition Playtest rules.
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