Pathfinder vs. D&D5 vs. Something Else
So I’m at Chapters having a coffee after watching Big Hero 6 with my family and I’m checking out the Fun and Games section, as is my habit. I’ve been watching with some interest the expansion of 5th Edition (Dungeons and Dragons, that is, henceforth to be called 5E) and feeling a little tempted. Not that I would buy it at Chapters. I spend more time in my local hobby stores so if I was going to buy it I would do so in one of them. No, just tempted to pick up the new edition.
Why D&D 5th Edition?
I really enjoyed the previous version. Why not just play that? I’m not sure the answer to that question. I have some ideas but I think it comes down to it being a new edition. I’m curious about it and from the little I’ve read and heard their intentions match up with my current bias. Additionally my current group have expressed a dislike for 4th Edition. The complaint is that at higher power levels the game grinds to a halt.
Where Does Pathfinder Fit In?
The comparison between Pathfinder and 5E boils down to my admiration for Paizo and the ecosystem they’ve built for their game. I’ve played Pathfinder and enjoyed it. It is based off of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 with some changes to improve that edition’s faults. This conflict was brought to my mind when I spotted the massive heavy box of Pathfinder Pawns: Beastiary 4. These are stand-up paper tokens representing monsters from one of Pathfinder’s books of monsters.
I’m livening up this article with art from Numenera since they have a clear policy for fan use of art. Foundation Stones. TM and Copyright 2014 Monte Cook Games LLC.
There would be something very satisfying about playing an RPG with each creature represented by the correct pawn. The idea that I could buy a book and a box of pawns with the exact same monsters gets my juices going.
I know, I could easily mix and match. Pawns from Pathfinder with 5E rules. It’s something I could do, I guess. It just doesn’t sound as cool to me.
Something Else?
One of my habits is to try to substitute a hobby activity with shopping. There’s a story in your head when you buy stuff. You always think about how you are going to make use of whatever item you are buying. I’ve found that when if I examine my feelings when I’m telling this story there’s something I already own that I wish I was making use of. This is certainly the case here.
I am in the process of winding down a short Dungeon World campaign in order to switch to a different system. Not that I haven’t enjoyed Dungeon World, I just have so many other games I want to play I don’t want to commit to a large campaign of anything.
Some more great Numenera art. Burrow Town by Matt Stawicki. TM and Copyright 2014 Monte Cook Games LLC.
In order I’d like to play Numenera, Star Wars, Firefly, Mouse Guard or even the old favorite: Tribe 8. Buying another game isn’t going to help me there.
How about you? What games have you been looking at and what do you wish you could be playing right now. Let me know in the comments. Maybe you’ll put another game on my radar because you’re a horrible human being who would do that sort of thing. You can also check me out on Google+ or Twitter where I post WIP images of my painted miniatures. Also, subscribe to the blog to see which game I end up playing.
The art used in this article is from Numenera and is ™ and © 2014 Monte Cook Games LLC. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the artist of the first image.
