For anyone that’s had enough of D&D, you might be interested to know that the tabletop RPG’s biggest (and arguably best) rival just bundled a ton of its books into a deal that saves you literal hundreds of dollars.
Pathfinder was born when folks became so fed up of changes to D&D that they made their own version. Despite being an new RPG with its own setting, it essentially rolled back the clock to the popular third edition of Dungeons & Dragons – it added back in a lot of features that’d been stripped out of D&D fourth edition. This ended up being tremendously popular and threatened to overshadow its inspiration as one of the best tabletop RPGs, and it’s only gone from strength to strength since then. Which brings us to the current Pathfinder Holiday Haul Bundle, which provides one hell of a starter pack on the current Pathfinder edition (2e). To be precise, it gets you $487’s worth of books and goods for just $40 at Humble Bundle.
If you’re totally new to the system, this forms the perfect beginner’s care package. You’re getting both core player rulebooks, the Game Master’s rulebook, the core bestiary, the starter set, and an avalanche of battlemaps to use. However, it also provides you with a lot of next steps. There’s a new character type that allows you to master the elements, a world guide, and a host of official adventures to play through. Talk about Holiday season reading.
In terms of how Pathfinder stacks up to D&D, it’s a great first stop for anyone hoping to venture beyond Dungeons & Dragons. While its rules have become more distinct from D&D since its first version, there’s still enough shared DNA that it feels familiar – it isn’t a total step into the dark. It’s incredibly well-supported too, so it’s not as if you’ll run out of things to do. Pathfinder is overflowing with sourcebooks and ideas that are a lot more adventurous than D&D typically is.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore D&D. But Pathfinder is fantastic too, and this introductory offer is really quite something.
For more tabletop recommendations, why not check out the best board games and the best card games?