Pathfinder RPG 2nd Ed: Playtest Rulebook (Special Edition)

Welcome to the next Evolution of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game! Ten years ago, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game launched with a massive public playtest that led to a decade of amazing stories of adventuring heroes from game tables around the world. Now it's time to make the game even better with the Pathfinder RPG 2nd Edition Playtest Rulebook!

Once you have a copy of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook and made your first character, gather together a group of friends and play the game! Provided is an adventure for you to play, entitled Doomsday Dawn, that is broken up into 7 distinct chapters. Additionally, this massive 400-page rulebook contains everything you need to create characters and run Pathfinder Playtest adventures from levels 1–20! With gorgeous new illustrations by Wayne Reynolds, the Playtest Rulebook lights the path leading directly to Pathfinder’s future. This version comes with a special edition hardcover with foil-debossed faux-leather cover and ribbon bookmark.

At its core, the story of both games is essentially the same. You still build your own character, venturing off on daring adventures, risking your life for a chance at fame and glory, defeating deadly foes that threaten your friends, your family, and perhaps the very world itself. Beyond the narrative, there are many things that have changed, but mostly in the details of how the game works. You still pick a race, even though it is now called your ancestry. You still decide on your class—the rulebook includes all of the core classes from the First Edition Core Rulebook, plus the alchemist. You still select feats, but these now come from a greater variety of sources, such as your ancestry, your class, and your skills.

Where the changes really shine through is in how the game is played. Gone are the confusing action types like move, standard, swift, and immediate, instead replaced with a simple system of three actions and one reaction each round. All of the varied systems and formulas for determining your character's bonuses and statistics, like saving throws, attack bonuses, and skills, have been unified in a single, easy-to-use proficiency system based on your choices and your character's level. You no longer need to collect a specific set of magic items to be a balanced character, relying on specific magical statistic bonuses. Instead, you get all of the bonuses you need from your regular armor and weapons, allowing the rest of your items to be truly wondrous.