Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish your 3e PSCS?

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Big Mac's picture
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Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish your 3e PSCS?

I'm one of the people who does not want to move to 4e. And that isn't just because I don't like the Spellplague thing that got done to Forgotten Realms. I also don't have time to relearn all the D&D rules.

But I'm thinking of giving Pathfinder a go. That is fairly similar to 3.5, but there are some important changes and I think that it would need a "3.75 PSCS" update to deal with them.

In case you have not noticed yet, Pazio have put up a Pathfinder SRD (called the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document).

This is released under the OGL, so everyone could use that to help them make a Pathfinder conversion.

There is a fan made version that is more like the Hypertext d20 SRD. That might be easier for people to use. It is called d20PFSRD.

So if there are any Planescape fans here who are interested in Pathfinder, I think it would be easy to skim through the core rules and not have to worry about pulling out Paizo's PI.

Jem
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I like Pathfinder and have

I like Pathfinder and have written some planar stuff for it here and there on this and Paizo's boards.

 

Much of the system is basically 3.5e, so not too much change is required mechanically.  Pathfinder's core classes are out of beta and are now different, which would necessitate some changes to stats for NPCs, but little else along those lines.  I'm not even sure it needs a formal conversion.

 

When it comes to the world, of course, Golarion's cosmology is substantially different from the Great Wheel, with its own arrangement of planes and its own pantheon.  Put me down as one who really likes the arrangement of the elemental planes.  I bought The Great Beyond and enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it for planar gaming in Pathfinder.  (I have a review elsewhere on the site.  I bit down hard on one particular point that jarred me, but I can live with it especially given later comments from the authors.)  Beyond the Vault of Souls is also a pretty cool campaign, and I look forward to more planar stuff from Paizo.

 

Todd Stewart, a.k.a. Shemeska the Marauder on these boards, suggests that a city briefly referred to in The Great Beyond called "Galisemni, the city of the celestial and the damned," would make a good Sigil-substitute for Outer Sphere gaming.  So could Shadow Absalom, or you could simply put your Sigil-clone floating in the Maelstrom, Lady of Pain and all.  The Outer Sphere is basically the Outer Planes, really, except for the eight lesser interstitials between the major alignment planes.  If you want them back, I'd just make Carceri a layer of the Abyss, and  Pandemonium an evil-tainted region of the Maelstrom.  Ysgard is basically Gorum's realm and the Beastlands could be found in Nirvana.  Bytopia would probably be a goodtinted region of the Maelstrom, I'd think... or a peculiar realm in Nirvana.  Arcadia would be a pastoral realm in Heaven, Acheron one of the borders of conflict between Axis and the Maelstrom, and Gehenna a region in Abaddon.

Anetra's picture
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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

Pathfinder is really cool. I played Pathfinder through the beta to test it out with my DnD group, and now that it's out of beta we like it enough to stick with it. I dug it enough to also pick up my own hard copy of the book, in addition to the one our DM has.

My roommate and I are going to be running a Pathfinder Planescape game "soon-ish," and when we do I'll be sure to pass along any conversions we do along the way. : >

Beyond that, though, yeah; Pathfinder is similar enough to 3.5 that you can run stuff from it in a sort of .... ahh, patch-it-as-you-go kind of way. My main concern is going to be the age-old "What Are Good Faction Abilities," since the game is going to be pre-faction war. Everyone has their own tastes on how to convert that stuff!

AlexanderDrake's picture
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Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

I am working on a Pathfinder rules set in Eberron for a planescape game. So does that make anyones head hurt?

Big Mac's picture
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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

Jem wrote:

I like Pathfinder and have written some planar stuff for it here and there on this and Paizo's boards.

 

Much of the system is basically 3.5e, so not too much change is required mechanically.  Pathfinder's core classes are out of beta and are now different, which would necessitate some changes to stats for NPCs, but little else along those lines.  I'm not even sure it needs a formal conversion.

Good point. Maybe a smaller, add-on, conversion guide could deal with the specific differences between 3.5 and the Pathfinder Reference Document.

Jem wrote:

 

When it comes to the world, of course, Golarion's cosmology is substantially different from the Great Wheel, with its own arrangement of planes and its own pantheon.  Put me down as one who really likes the arrangement of the elemental planes.  I bought The Great Beyond and enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it for planar gaming in Pathfinder.  (I have a review elsewhere on the site.  I bit down hard on one particular point that jarred me, but I can live with it especially given later comments from the authors.)  Beyond the Vault of Souls is also a pretty cool campaign, and I look forward to more planar stuff from Paizo.

 

Todd Stewart, a.k.a. Shemeska the Marauder on these boards, suggests that a city briefly referred to in The Great Beyond called "Galisemni, the city of the celestial and the damned," would make a good Sigil-substitute for Outer Sphere gaming.  So could Shadow Absalom, or you could simply put your Sigil-clone floating in the Maelstrom, Lady of Pain and all.  The Outer Sphere is basically the Outer Planes, really, except for the eight lesser interstitials between the major alignment planes.  If you want them back, I'd just make Carceri a layer of the Abyss, and  Pandemonium an evil-tainted region of the Maelstrom.  Ysgard is basically Gorum's realm and the Beastlands could be found in Nirvana.  Bytopia would probably be a goodtinted region of the Maelstrom, I'd think... or a peculiar realm in Nirvana.  Arcadia would be a pastoral realm in Heaven, Acheron one of the borders of conflict between Axis and the Maelstrom, and Gehenna a region in Abaddon.

I was mostly thinking of the Pathfinder rules, but there is no reason to let the products from the Pathfinder Campaign Setting (or other cool third party products) go to waste.

I would love to see every campaign setting get its own fanon crystal sphere from the Spelljammer fans and its own fanon connections to The Great Wheel from the Planescape fans.

Anetra wrote:
Pathfinder is really cool. I played Pathfinder through the beta to test it out with my DnD group, and now that it's out of beta we like it enough to stick with it. I dug it enough to also pick up my own hard copy of the book, in addition to the one our DM has.

There is also the Pathfinder Reference Document out there. That is great if you are short of cash, knocking up a PC at lunchtime at work, or if you want to use the search features to quickly find rules.

Anetra wrote:
My roommate and I are going to be running a Pathfinder Planescape game "soon-ish," and when we do I'll be sure to pass along any conversions we do along the way. : >

Beyond that, though, yeah; Pathfinder is similar enough to 3.5 that you can run stuff from it in a sort of .... ahh, patch-it-as-you-go kind of way. My main concern is going to be the age-old "What Are Good Faction Abilities," since the game is going to be pre-faction war. Everyone has their own tastes on how to convert that stuff!

This is the sort of thing I would love to see in a download that would support the PSCS.

AlexanderDrake wrote:
I am working on a Pathfinder rules set in Eberron for a planescape game. So does that make anyones head hurt?

I got a nosebleed reading that reply!

...but it does sound like an interesting concept.

Tim4488's picture
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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

Personally, I'd like to see the gith and some other races updated to PF. Not sure how that works out with legal issues, though, it may be impossible.

Heck, with the power boost all the base races got, we might even see no-LA gith, maybe other races too. Which would be great for me personally, I like to start out games low level and build them up.

Pathfinder doesn't necessarily equal Golarion, just like 3.5 didn't necessarily equal Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms. I plan to use PF rules, Planescape setting, Great Wheel and all. No reason others can't do the same. (Course, if you want to mix PS and Golarion, then yes, those are good suggestions.)

And wow, Planescape Eberron. Trippy.

AlexanderDrake's picture
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Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

Yep I am working on a Eberron / Planescape mix. One of the things I am working on incorporating as much material from Planescape and lots of the Pazio material about Demons and Devils that I can get ahold of. But since Eberron uses a slightly different plane setting it is some work making it all work out. The strange thing is a a using a few pieces of things I like from 4ed.

Working on different plane towns and feel for somethings, but the important thing is that everything I do still makes it look like Planescape!

Its a slow process but I am working on stuff slowly, stupid job!

Yaballa's picture
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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

I don't know about Pathfinder but I'm doing a conversion to Fantasy Craft which will be released to public after playtesting.

Tim4488's picture
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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

I have a legal question...

I'm running a PF PS game soon, like I mentioned, and I'm planning to Pathfinderize the races: Genasi, Nathri, even the Gith, etc., hopefully in such a way that they're balanced with no level adjustment or anything like that. If I were to post them on these boards for review and critique, with no intent of making any money or selling or publishing at any point, would that be okay, or is that still breaking copyright?

Thanks.

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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

I think that qualifies under fair use - there's no penalty for that pretty much anywhere, certainly not here.

Loki De Carabas's picture
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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

I've been cranking out conversions for my own game. Should be getting them up on the site soon. Just finishing up spells and feats now.

Hopefully about a week.

I'd also love to hear more about the PS/Eberron crossover. I'm doing a Spelljammer / Eberron crossover soon and that material would be a terrific aid to me. Looking forward to it!

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Re: Are you doing a Pathfinder RPG update when you finish ...

Its been a slow start as we rotate GMs about evey month a half to do seperate games between four people. But I do have lots of notes, what are you interested in? I might have and anwser. Also love your site.

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