3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

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bmir73 ( 24 )
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3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by bmir73 »

I have been playing D&D since I was 9. I started with the red basic box, cheap dice and have been hooked still today at 39. I recently played a 4th edition game after playing 3 and 3.5 for about 5 years. The 4th edition game is a shell of what D&D used to be. All the thought has been taken out of the game (opinion). Then two months ago, a friend said we should try Pathfinder...Ok I thought, could'nt hurt! I was really surprised of how well the game was conceived vs. 4th and the SURGE garbage(opinion). My faith in RPG's is restored somewhat but...What are your thoughts? Post them here if you wanna!
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by kturock »

pathfinder has been described as D&D 3.7 or .8.

4th ed is D&D MMO sans computer.

Pathfinder is one of the biggest, if not biggest, selling versions of D&D; even out selling 4.0 & it's supplements.

You can find pathfinder online if you just want to read it.
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by MagickalMemories »

I am in a monthly D&D game at my place.

There IS no D&D after 2nd edition AD&D. lol

That said, everything I hear is that Pathfinder is superior to 3.5, which far outpaces 4.


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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by Adunaphel »

I run a Pathfinder campaign about once every three weeks and we like it. One player thinks that the spellcasters are a tiny bit overpowered compared to D&D 3.5. But, otherwise Pathfinder seems to be a very nice version of D&D.

I agree with Eric that 2nd Edition AD&D is where it's at for D&D. I have a ton of very many nice memories with that system. Heck, my wife has a campaign that the kids and I are going through with 2nd edition right now.

As for 4th edition D&D, I have only looked at it a little, but my gaming group HATES it. And they went through it thoroughly when it came out. The will NOT play it. They call it "kiddie D&D".

So, if you want an updated version of D&D, then I personally would recommend Pathfinder.

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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by eman1_2 »

kturock wrote:p
Pathfinder is one of the biggest, if not biggest, selling versions of D&D; even out selling 4.0 & it's supplements.
Where is this info from? Just curious. I have heard it, but anything seems anecdotal at best.

I personally like 4E over 3.0 / 3.5 / Pathfinder. I have been playing since '83 or so, so not a noob by any means. The 3.0/.5/PF versions just had some problems I cannot overlook - all in how character building is accomplished. While 4E is not as good as 2E (the best edition, I agree), I really like it, and game in a couple of groups with it.
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by kturock »

I was told this by the FLGS based on their sales and what they've read in trades & been told by there distributor [Alliance}.
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by Imaginos »

Here's an article on ICv2 about Pathfinder being the top RPG on the market: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/20743.html

I like both versions, for different reasons. I've been playing since 1985, so not a noob. My first RPG experience was actually Gamma World 1st edition. Played a LOT of AD&D, never much BECMI. Played AD&D 1, then migrated into 2nd even with the changes (overall better, IMO). I still have core books for both editions.

I'm kind of torn on choosing between Pathfinder and 4th edition though. Pathfinder has taken the 3.5 rules set in a direction that improves it. Especially when you add in the options through the Advanced Player's Guide. 4th edition added a nice kicker to non-casters by giving them a way to compete with casters at higher levels. As someone who typically plays a fighter type, that's a plus in my book.
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by HarlequinZero »

I prefer the older editions of AD&D. 4th is just crap in my opinion. If I wanted to play a tabletop wargame, I'd play a tabletop wargame. It's like WotC thinks their player base it too stupid to understand abstracted combat so they really push the use of maps and minis and turn D&D into a sort of quasi-Mordheim experience. THAC0 or go home! :-D
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by Imaginos »

4th edition is no better / worse than the other editions. It has some bonuses, some negatives, but like so many RPGs, it all depends on the group. Some games work for some groups, others don't. For my group, it worked for some folks, but not for everyone. Given the focus on battle mat combat, it is much more tactical than Pathfinder or 3.5. Yes, it can be played without minis/markers, but I don't do that since the powers have such specific positioning impact.

But just because combat uses minis doesn't mean it is any less of a roleplaying game. That's all in the group. If you get in your head that there is no roleplaying, there won't be. One of the successful aspects of my game was the fact that I gave people a bonus of +1, +2, or +3 to their roll if they gave characterization to their actions or described their stunts. Our elven rogue regularly made death defying jump attacks for the bonus he gained for taking the risk.
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Re: 3rd or 4th AD&D vs. Pathfinder.....Thoughts?

Post by IraShaine1972 »

I started playing D&D around 1980. Funny thing is throughout nearly 20 years of playing 1st and 2nd we never really asked ourselves if it was any good or not it just was. The systems were close enough that we intermixed them fairly regularly. More or less regarded 2e as an extension of 1st edition and to us it was really all one big game.

I only played a few games of 3.0 and 3.5 as I was involved in allot of other things for that handful of years that it existed (less than the life span of 2e) but to me it was still D&D with some improvements and some things I didn't really care for. One thing I did get a chance to play allot of was D&D minis and thought it was a blast although I detest blind buys I still bought allot of boxes.

I have dabbled in 4e and I find it feels allot more like playing D&D minis than D&D or RPGing at all for that matter. And I have really tried to play it with as much emphasis on rpging as possible. The mechanics of the game just take away from it in my opinion. I have found that it is not really a game with allot of staying power in my area at least over the course of the last 4 years most people have put it aside due to its redundancy. Its dead where I live. All that being said I found the art and production quality of the game top notch and the game itself was fun on a simple level but not compelling. If WotC set out to make a game that was more player friendly (from what I read they assumed everyone has ADD) they also made it not a game that I found RE-playable. It just didn't have it.

Pathfinder is what I think 4e should have been. A streamlines progression of a system that has been evolving for decades. Frankly I hold Pathfinder and 2e as the best incarnations of D&D for clarity and easy to understand and playable. Both as an RPG in general and as a D&D experience. IMO for a game that is popular.easy to play and understand and get people into and is HEAVILY supported with some pretty good material Pathfinder is the game of today.

All that being said there is also Runequest 2/Legend that is pretty good too. :wink:
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