PDA

View Full Version : Free Pathfinder Conversion Guide



DeathQuaker
2009-08-14, 09:07 AM
Now that the final, official Pathfinder ruleset is out, Paizo has put out a free guide for converting 3.5 games to Pathfinder games here:

http://paizo.com/store/downloads/pathfinder/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy89m6

You do have to register at Paizo.com to download it.

People interested in Pathfinder, to love, hate, or just be curious about, may wish to take a look, as it's essentially an 18 page summary list of the changes/revisions to the 3.5 ruleset.

Note that this IS based on the final ruleset, and there have been many changes made from the Beta. I know a few gamers have gone to some solid conclusions about Pathfinder from the Beta (for good or ill) and it's worth checking out the changes before making a final decision (for good or ill).

:smallsmile:

Another_Poet
2009-08-14, 09:21 AM
Awesome, thanks for posting this!

Matthew
2009-08-14, 09:22 AM
Very good of them; they certainly are making every effort to ease the transition for those who choose to make the leap.

Yora
2009-08-14, 09:24 AM
To bad downloading isn't working right now. Hope it gets up again soon.

Matthew
2009-08-14, 09:25 AM
Refresh your download page; I had the same initial problem.

Yora
2009-08-14, 09:29 AM
I do, but it always say try again in a minute.

Random832
2009-08-14, 09:33 AM
If it's a free download, why does it require "personalization"? (For those not in the know, that's a code word for "watermarking so we know it was YOUR copy that got put up on some other site") - their other free downloads don't seem to.

I've emailed customer service.

Well, at least it's OGL (it says OGL in the title anyway), so once one person gets it to work they can put up the text [make sure to check the legal text in the back for what is or is not OGL]

Kaihaku
2009-08-14, 09:43 AM
If it's a free download, why does it require "personalization"? (For those not in the know, that's a code word for "watermarking so we know it was YOUR copy that got put up on some other site") - their other free downloads don't seem to.

I'd imagine so they can track down any enterprising young pirate with access to a decent printing press. The beta release also had a personal watermark. *shruggle* I don't see why this is a big deal.

Also, http://www.d20pfsrd.com/

Clementx
2009-08-14, 09:44 AM
Because that is what all their .pdfs do for copy protection, including the free beta. They just don't shut it off for free stuff. It still is better than WotC's version, which is, "NO ONE CAN HAVE PDFS!".

Matthew
2009-08-14, 09:46 AM
I do, but it always say try again in a minute.

Strange; server must be overloaded. When I refreshed it went from "try again in a minute" to ready. Sounds like I got lucky.

Random832
2009-08-14, 09:49 AM
I'd imagine so they can track down any enterprising young pirate with access to a decent printing press. The beta release also had a personal watermark. *shruggle* I don't see why this is a big deal.

It's not, except that it seems to be responsible for a lot of the delays.

I managed to get my copy - the Open Game Content statement says "game mechanics" - someone more confident in their knowledge about these things than me is going to have to figure out what that means for a conversion guide.

Zim
2009-08-14, 10:13 AM
They also have their version of the SRD for the game up and running. It includes the errata already worked in - not like there was much. The errata document is 2 pages; half of which is the OGL liscence and Pathfinder logo. :)

dragonfan6490
2009-08-14, 11:12 AM
I personally like the watermark.

A couple of my friends and I each have a copy of they beta PDF that we've printed out, and the watermark helps us know which of ours is which, since we happened to put them in the same type of binder.

DeathQuaker
2009-08-14, 03:48 PM
There are only a few Pathfinder .pdfs that don't have a watermark. Normally it's not that invasive--only when the site is reluctant to prep it.

The site is probably working better now that the rush to download has probably abated a little (at least their site in general seems to be working faster than it was earlier today). The thing to do if it doesn't personalize right away is just refresh, as Matthew said. Good luck.

FMArthur
2009-08-14, 04:55 PM
So what are the main things you need to do to convert D&D3.5 material to Pathfinder?

Random832
2009-08-14, 05:06 PM
The site is probably working better now that the rush to download has probably abated a little (at least their site in general seems to be working faster than it was earlier today). The thing to do if it doesn't personalize right away is just refresh, as Matthew said. Good luck.

The annoying thing for me was, for a while it was just _dropping_ the personalization attempts, rather than just taking a long time - after refreshing it was back to where i'd have to click personalize again.

Cedrass
2009-08-14, 06:06 PM
So what are the main things you need to do to convert D&D3.5 material to Pathfinder?

There's a few changes to classes. Actually, you won't have to remove anything, but add a couple of feats to your character, and some class feature. Barbs/Bards/Monks now have a pool of points instead of a number of uses per day for their abilities. Sorcerers choose a bloodline, Wizards gain powers depending on their specialization. Well I could go on but really, you just add a couple of feature to the core classes.

Then add feats, look for your spells, some have probably been revised.

And it's pretty much done. Calculate your CMB and CMD.

Starbuck_II
2009-08-14, 06:23 PM
Personalize button says it needs a minute...seem down.

I'd say the changes should be in section to explain:
Classes:
You get more feats (no longer just 1/3 levels, but 1/2 )
Three classes are no longer X/day, but points (Ki, Rage, and Music). Rage and Music are rds/day, but Ki is less for a rd useage, but an useage.

Sorcerors get bonus for what bloodline you choose.

Wizards get a different bonus for specializing: no longer just bonus spells. Example, Generalist (a choice for specializing) is Mage Hand (that can deal damage).

Fighter got some AC and attack bonus benefits as well as fear save bonus.

At least 1/3rd spell was errated (Polymorph was divided into a type like Beast Form).

Ranger got a lot of goodies as did Paladin.

Bards rd useage is kinda of a nerf. But they have a cool capstone at 20.

Calculating your CMB and CMD isn't too hard: CMD is CMB + touch AC.