Back in the early years of my Dungeons and Dragons career, the only system that people really played was this pleasantly simple system called Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. Running my first session was easily one of the most exhilarating experiences at the time as I was simultaneously shy and new to DnD, but that didn’t stop me. A few years, and many campaigns later, I heard tales of this new system. Whispers caressed my ears detailing beautiful things such as the combination of Spot, Search, Listen, etc into one singular skill, a change that many had made a house rule at this point. Pathfinder brought in a tsunami of alterations to the system I held so close to my heart but managed to keep the soul of the system it drew inspiration from.
The classes of Pathfinder still had the feeling of the typical DnD classes, but with some added spice. At every level you were guaranteed to at least get something, making the character advancement overall more satisfying. They took similar classes, like Wizard and Sorcerer, and truly gave them their own identity by adding Bloodlines or Disciplines. To be fair, there were classes that had very similar themes or simply still felt lacking. To address the issue, unchained versions of certain classes were created and they certainly fit the name.
Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 had a massive amount of content, books upon books of settings, rules, spells, etc. Normally, competing with something like that would be impossible, but Pathfinder found a way. You see, due to the similarities of the systems, converting 3.5 content into Pathfinder was incredibly simple. That isn't to say that Pathfinder doesn't have satisfying content itself, but who doesn't want to pick up a Swordsage every now and then?
3.5 will always hold a special place in my heart, but I am afraid it will forever be a memory for me. Pathfinder came out of seemingly nowhere and attracted lovers of 3.5 effortlessly because it is very simply a superior system. I could write a book on the ways Pathfinder is superior, but I will settle with a few articles instead.
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Find all the Pathfinder info here: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/
