5e to Pathfinder Transition (help me)

[DrowPiratRobrts]

I'm very very familiar with 5e, but I'm probably about to start playing in a Pathfinder campaign at Level 4. Where do I start? What are the big differences? Help please, haha.

Edit: It's Pathfinder 1.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Which PF? I can help you with 1e, but I'm hopelessly lost in 2e.

The 3.x boards here are going to be the most helpful in teaching you. They've got a long history with the system.

[Kurald Galain]

I'm very very familiar with 5e, but I'm probably about to start playing in a Pathfinder campaign at Level 4. Where do I start? What are the big differences? Help please, haha.

Assuming you're talking about PF1, broadly speaking it is about (a) Specialist characters, (b) Extremely high amounts of customization, (c) Mid-level characters are vastly more powerful than at low level, and (d) the game is primarily built to be a world simulator; whereas 5E is about (a) Generalist characters, (b) Some customization, (c) Mid-level characters are only slightly more powerful than at low level, and (d) the game is primarily built to be easy to play.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Assuming you're talking about PF1, broadly speaking it is about (a) Specialist characters, (b) Extremely high amounts of customization, (c) Mid-level characters are vastly more powerful than at low level, and (d) the game is primarily built to be a world simulator; whereas 5E is about (a) Generalist characters, (b) Some customization, (c) Mid-level characters are only slightly more powerful than at low level, and (d) the game is primarily built to be easy to play.

Thanks! Those are all helpful distinctions.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Which PF? I can help you with 1e, but I'm hopelessly lost in 2e.

The 3.x boards here are going to be the most helpful in teaching you. They've got a long history with the system.

It's Pathfinder 1.

[EggKookoo]

The DCs aren't made up and the rules do matter!

[Calthropstu]

It is easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer number of choices available. For your first character, I suggest one of the following:

Sorcerer
Oracle
Fighter
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Bard
Cavalier
Samurai

Stay away from druid, wizard and cleric at first. They need a lot more work.

Then pick a race that fits with your character design. There are several to choose from, and human is always a solid choice.

Then select feats. These are where your character starts to take shape. There are hundreds to choose from, but we can help with that.

Pick a race, a class and tell us how you want that character to function. Then we'll be able to help you flesh it out a bit.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Pick a race, a class and tell us how you want that character to function. Then we'll be able to help you flesh it out a bit.

I've had this idea for a Kobold Finesse-Barb floating in my head for a long time for 5e. I'm going to at least explore options to make something similar. I just got done playing a Wizard in 5e for two years and had a blast though, pun intended. So I'm open to pretty much anything. I'll do some further reading and research, but something like a Kobold Barb is at least my starting point.

[EggKookoo]

One biggie with spellcasters in 3e. Not sure if this still holds in PF. You don't get spell slots per day. You get spell castings per day, which is how it was with 1e/2e.

So if you want to cast magic missile twice, you need to memorize it twice, and you're basically locked into that decision for the rest of the day. IIRC 3e sorcerers did the "spell slot" thing that became more standard for all spellcasters in 5e.

Also, no short rests. Everything is "per day" which became the long rest in 5e.

[Calthropstu]

I've had this idea for a Kobold Finesse-Barb floating in my head for a long time for 5e. I'm going to at least explore options to make something similar. I just got done playing a Wizard in 5e for two years and had a blast though, pun intended. So I'm open to pretty much anything. I'll do some further reading and research, but something like a Kobold Barb is at least my starting point.

Hmmm. You want an unchained barbarian then. You can find it here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/unchained-classes/barbarian-unchained/). Your 1st feat would, of course, be weapon finesse. You get another feat for 3rd level, I suggest quick draw and using a bunch of throwing knives before you close in. Then slapping the opponent with a rapier or other finesse weapon.

[Rynjin]

I've had this idea for a Kobold Finesse-Barb floating in my head for a long time for 5e. I'm going to at least explore options to make something similar. I just got done playing a Wizard in 5e for two years and had a blast though, pun intended. So I'm open to pretty much anything. I'll do some further reading and research, but something like a Kobold Barb is at least my starting point.

As an alternative to Calthropstu's suggestion, the Savage Technologist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/savage-technologist) gives both a Str and Dex bonus when Raging, instead of Str/Con and is excellent for a Dex based switch-hitter character, though it may be unsuitable for campaigns that ban firearms.

The Urban Barbarian (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/urban-barbarian/) is the other Dex based barbarian option.

The difference between Core Barbarian and Unchained is pretty much a matter of preference; they're largely identical save that the Unchained Barbarian's Rage is a bit more simplified and streamlined or newer players.

[RatElemental]

One biggie with spellcasters in 3e. Not sure if this still holds in PF. You don't get spell slots per day. You get spell castings per day, which is how it was with 1e/2e.

So if you want to cast magic missile twice, you need to memorize it twice, and you're basically locked into that decision for the rest of the day. IIRC 3e sorcerers did the "spell slot" thing that became more standard for all spellcasters in 5e.

Also, no short rests. Everything is "per day" which became the long rest in 5e.

Pathfinder has a class called Arcanist that basically casts the same way Wizards do in 5e, so that might be a good first pick for a caster.

[Calthropstu]

As an alternative to Calthropstu's suggestion, the Savage Technologist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/savage-technologist) gives both a Str and Dex bonus when Raging, instead of Str/Con and is excellent for a Dex based switch-hitter character, though it may be unsuitable for campaigns that ban firearms.

The Urban Barbarian (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/barbarian/archetypes/paizo-barbarian-archetypes/urban-barbarian/) is the other Dex based barbarian option.

The difference between Core Barbarian and Unchained is pretty much a matter of preference; they're largely identical save that the Unchained Barbarian's Rage is a bit more simplified and streamlined or newer players.

Unchained get straight untyped bonuses to hit and damage which stacks for anything else he may want to do. It's a pretty good catch all as far as barbarians go. Urban barbarian is also a good fit, except it's a kobold. Kobolds aren't well known for their urban sprawls. I figured unchained got him everything he was looking for. And the quick draw makes him pretty much able to full attack with hurled weapons. Then, he can go for dex to damage with thrown weapons and melee weapons and be a knife wielding death kobold.

[Rynjin]

Unchained get straight untyped bonuses to hit and damage which stacks for anything else he may want to do. It's a pretty good catch all as far as barbarians go. Urban barbarian is also a good fit, except it's a kobold. Kobolds aren't well known for their urban sprawls. I figured unchained got him everything he was looking for. And the quick draw makes him pretty much able to full attack with hurled weapons. Then, he can go for dex to damage with thrown weapons and melee weapons and be a knife wielding death kobold.

It does not, however, work with bows, so if he wants that he would need one of the other options.

[Calthropstu]

It does not, however, work with bows, so if he wants that he would need one of the other options.

Fair, but he seems to want to come in swinging, which is why I suggest the knife route. Throw a bunch of daggers, then hit em where it hurts. Stack a rogue level or two and things get interesting.

[Albions_Angel]

Lots of people diving in with "play this class" which is great, but just in case...

Throw out EVERYTHING you know about building a character. 5e lets you essentially pick a race, a class, roll for stats, pick a background, and GO.

3.p (3.0, 3.5 and pathfinder 1) treats character building as a MAJOR minigame in its own right. You can sink HOURS into building just a level 1 character. Your first character will probably take you at least an hour to get right. Print a character sheet for pathfinder, and take a look at it.

In no particular order, here are things you need to be aware of.


Advantage doesnt exist. Instead, 3.p is about maths. If you have "advantage", you get a bonus to that roll, usually +2. If you are at disadvantage, you get -2. These bonuses CAN (but dont always) stack infinitely if they come from different sources. Sometimes you will not only get a penalty, but ALSO be denied the benefit of your attribute bonuses to certain rolls. So be prepared to deduct that too.
There are 3 AC values. One for normal stuff. One for if you are unaware of your attacker (so just your base, and any protection from armour and spells). One for if your attacker can bypass protection (so just your base, and any "dodge" bonuses, like your dex mod). Also, miss chance is a thing. Sometimes attacks will have a 20% chance to just miss. THE DM IS YOUR FRIEND, ASK FOR HELP!
Saves are different to just adding your prof bonus to some attributes. They scale with class levels. But they are on your sheet. Keep them up to date, but just read the number off when needed.
You get far fewer class options IN A SINGLE CLASS (excluding archetypes, which arnt the same as 5e archetypes) than in 5e. But you get WAY more classes (and you can multiclass, but this is your first time, dont do that). And importantly, every odd numbered level, you get a free FEAT. These are not like 5e feats. These are typically minor bonuses to one or 2 things, or let you do one new thing. They take the place of 5e archetypes essentially, and let you define your character. There are hundreds of them. Dont get scared, only a few will be relevant. Ask for help.
Skills are IMPORTANT. No more rogue being just as good at opening locks as the barbarian. You can now invest in skills with skill points that you get each level. And you can really, really pump up those numbers with items, spells, etc. Take a look at them, learn to love them, learn to use them often.
Attacking is a tricky beast, but all the numbers end up on your character sheet. You are familiar with 5e. Prof bonus + attribute bonus + dice roll for attacks, Attribute bonus + dice roll to damage, right? Yeah, thats gone. Now your class has a "base attack bonus" which scales with level, and eventually allows for extra attacks on EVERY class. And sometimes things dont work the way you would expect. Attacking is now: BAB + attribute bonus (usually only str, or dex if its ranged or you have the Weapon Finnesse FEAT - just having the weapon isnt good enough) + dice roll + situational bonuses. But damage is just dice roll (and weapon bonus damage) UNLESS you have high strength, or a special feat. Dex does not usually add to damage. So if you want to go dex barb, know that you need to pick up other options for damage.
Position is EVERYTHING. 5e can be nicely played as a theater of the mind game. There are no (base) flanking rules, or highground rules, or anything like that. No way to help your friend in combat. But in 3.p, Flanking is a MUST. Flank with people to get +2. Get high ground for another +2. Be invisible for ANOTHER +2 AND they dont get to use their Dex bonus to AC. Get your friend who is bad at attacking to "aid another" (attack roll against AC 10 to essentially distract the enemy) for, you guessed it, yet another +2. Be bigger, be faster, be stronger. Or be smaller, that works too. On that note...
SIZE ACTUALLY MATTERS. From small weapons doing small damage, to big people struggling to hit things, the size of your character, and their equipment, matters. Not much, but it DOES matter.
If you think something should affect your ability to damage someone, dont just ask the DM for advantage. Ask if there is a rule for that. There probably is. The sun is in their eyes? Rule for that. I threw marbles under their feet? Rule for that. They are invisible but I threw a bag of flour at their general location? Rule for that. I want to blast this guy into geostationary orbit in a way that is game legal and doesnt require DM decisions? THERE IS A RULE FOR THAT. I want to scry a city and have that spell proceed to kill every living thing in a 10 mile radius while potentially leaving all the buildings untouched? THERE IS A GOD DAMN RULE FOR THAT!
Have a crack at making your own character, then feel free to upload the sheet here for critique, but for the love of all that is holy, SPECIFY THAT YOU ARE NEW, AND THAT THE GAME IS LIKELY VERY LOW OPTIMIZATION. Otherwise you will get people saying "Nah, its rubbish, go get 3 level 1 dips of these classes and then go wizard the rest of the way, make sure you wish for infinite wishes, and become a god, oh and get a pet terrasque as a mount that you then kill and bring back as a lich, and also you are made of dust and have immunity to everything except the kiss of a siren because you need that feat to charm people just by looking at you so they can kill the DM before they were born..." It happens more than you might think...

[Kurald Galain]

I've had this idea for a Kobold Finesse-Barb floating in my head
For consideration: the draconic bloodrager (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/bloodrager-bloodlines/paizo-bloodrager-bloodlines/draconic/), since kobolds have dragon blood. The urban archetype (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/bloodrager/archetypes/paizo-bloodrager-archetypes/urban-bloodrager-bloodrager-archetype/) lets your rage increase dex instead of str.


3.p (3.0, 3.5 and pathfinder 1) treats character building as a MAJOR minigame in its own right. You can sink HOURS into building just a level 1 character.
Well you totally can do that, but that doesn't mean you have to. If you're not playing a spellcaster, you can easily pick a race, class, archetype (i.e. background) and GO. At low level, don't worry about picking "the wrong thing" unless your group is into heavy optimizing, and bear in mind that retraining rules exist.


Sometimes attacks will have a 20% chance to just miss.
I note that Albion's advice contains a lot of "sometimes this, sometimes that" remarks that sound pretty complicated... but bear in mind that (a) you're not expected to know all of this, that's the GM's job; and (b) the rules are pretty consistent on when these things happen, so people tend to pick it up pretty fast. For in stance, 20% miss chance on attacks applies specifically when you cannot see your target well (e.g. due to fog or some spells). It's not arbitrarily "sometimes" :smallsmile:

[EggKookoo]

Also, if you've internalized 5e's bounded accuracy, be prepared for what will seem like ridiculous dice roll modifiers.

[Albions_Angel]

I note that Albion's advice contains a lot of "sometimes this, sometimes that" remarks that sound pretty complicated... but bear in mind that (a) you're not expected to know all of this, that's the GM's job; and (b) the rules are pretty consistent on when these things happen, so people tend to pick it up pretty fast. For in stance, 20% miss chance on attacks applies specifically when you cannot see your target well (e.g. due to fog or some spells). It's not arbitrarily "sometimes" :smallsmile:

Yeah, the DM is there to help. That said, so are the other players. When I played 5e, I found that it was very easy to know literally NOTHING about the game, and similarly easy for the DM to carry the party through it. The rules were streamlined, dare I say, simplified. A DM could hold everything in their heads easily. That has its downsides. So much of 5e isnt written down ANYWHERE. There are very few examples of what check DCs should be, everything was up to the DM, and thus could change certainly game to game, DM to DM, but sometimes session to session or encounter to encounter if the DM was a little scatterbrained.

But there is SO MUCH in 3.p to be aware of, that its easy to forget something, or not know something. So while you shouldnt stress too much, and should enjoy yourself, dont go in prepared to put your feet up, chat to some friends, and roll the dice when the DM tells you to (which is how a scary number of my 5e experiences have gone). Pathfinder is a complex and deep system, and you will want to be paying attention basically every second until you have the basics down. Particularly in combat. Stay focused, stay quiet when its not your turn, when it is your turn, have a plan ready before the DM turns to you, and then feel free to ask questions of both the DM and other players.

"Ok, so I want to be in a position to hit THIS GUY really hard. If I go here, will that count as flanking? Ok, and if I kill him, if I am here, that also lets me cleave and reach THAT GUY, right? Ok, but I only have 30 move, so if I move like THIS, can I avoid attacks of opportunity? No? Ok, is there any way I can do that without getting hit? Oh, I can tumble! Ok. I get it now. Right. Then its d20 and BAB and dex mod to hit, right? Cool. AC 23. A hit? And, uh, 1d6 + 2 from strength for... 4 damage. Nice. Thanks guys."

[Gurifu]

For the easiest way to contribute a lot to your party, I would suggest running a fighter. Use a greatsword, have high Strength and Constitution, take Power Attack, Cleave, Furious Focus, Weapon Focus (Greatsword), and Weapon Specialization (Greatsword). Wear armor. At the beginning of the turn, pick a nearby monster and notify the DM that you want to run at it and hit it as hard as you can. Remind her what your feats are. Soon you will learn the rules of running at things and hitting them hard, and will be able to declare your own actions in Rules Language instead of Common Sense Language.

For most encounters at this level, you will be the party MVP just by doing this.

By the time your fighter is no longer the party MVP (around level 7), you'll know the system well enough to be comfortable having your fighter retire and rolling a new character with more versatility.

[Calthropstu]

Lots of people diving in with "play this class" which is great, but just in case...

Throw out EVERYTHING you know about building a character. 5e lets you essentially pick a race, a class, roll for stats, pick a background, and GO.

3.p (3.0, 3.5 and pathfinder 1) treats character building as a MAJOR minigame in its own right. You can sink HOURS into building just a level 1 character. Your first character will probably take you at least an hour to get right. Print a character sheet for pathfinder, and take a look at it.

In no particular order, here are things you need to be aware of.


Advantage doesnt exist. Instead, 3.p is about maths. If you have "advantage", you get a bonus to that roll, usually +2. If you are at disadvantage, you get -2. These bonuses CAN (but dont always) stack infinitely if they come from different sources. Sometimes you will not only get a penalty, but ALSO be denied the benefit of your attribute bonuses to certain rolls. So be prepared to deduct that too.
There are 3 AC values. One for normal stuff. One for if you are unaware of your attacker (so just your base, and any protection from armour and spells). One for if your attacker can bypass protection (so just your base, and any "dodge" bonuses, like your dex mod). Also, miss chance is a thing. Sometimes attacks will have a 20% chance to just miss. THE DM IS YOUR FRIEND, ASK FOR HELP!
Saves are different to just adding your prof bonus to some attributes. They scale with class levels. But they are on your sheet. Keep them up to date, but just read the number off when needed.
You get far fewer class options IN A SINGLE CLASS (excluding archetypes, which arnt the same as 5e archetypes) than in 5e. But you get WAY more classes (and you can multiclass, but this is your first time, dont do that). And importantly, every odd numbered level, you get a free FEAT. These are not like 5e feats. These are typically minor bonuses to one or 2 things, or let you do one new thing. They take the place of 5e archetypes essentially, and let you define your character. There are hundreds of them. Dont get scared, only a few will be relevant. Ask for help.
Skills are IMPORTANT. No more rogue being just as good at opening locks as the barbarian. You can now invest in skills with skill points that you get each level. And you can really, really pump up those numbers with items, spells, etc. Take a look at them, learn to love them, learn to use them often.
Attacking is a tricky beast, but all the numbers end up on your character sheet. You are familiar with 5e. Prof bonus + attribute bonus + dice roll for attacks, Attribute bonus + dice roll to damage, right? Yeah, thats gone. Now your class has a "base attack bonus" which scales with level, and eventually allows for extra attacks on EVERY class. And sometimes things dont work the way you would expect. Attacking is now: BAB + attribute bonus (usually only str, or dex if its ranged or you have the Weapon Finnesse FEAT - just having the weapon isnt good enough) + dice roll + situational bonuses. But damage is just dice roll (and weapon bonus damage) UNLESS you have high strength, or a special feat. Dex does not usually add to damage. So if you want to go dex barb, know that you need to pick up other options for damage.
Position is EVERYTHING. 5e can be nicely played as a theater of the mind game. There are no (base) flanking rules, or highground rules, or anything like that. No way to help your friend in combat. But in 3.p, Flanking is a MUST. Flank with people to get +2. Get high ground for another +2. Be invisible for ANOTHER +2 AND they dont get to use their Dex bonus to AC. Get your friend who is bad at attacking to "aid another" (attack roll against AC 10 to essentially distract the enemy) for, you guessed it, yet another +2. Be bigger, be faster, be stronger. Or be smaller, that works too. On that note...
SIZE ACTUALLY MATTERS. From small weapons doing small damage, to big people struggling to hit things, the size of your character, and their equipment, matters. Not much, but it DOES matter.
If you think something should affect your ability to damage someone, dont just ask the DM for advantage. Ask if there is a rule for that. There probably is. The sun is in their eyes? Rule for that. I threw marbles under their feet? Rule for that. They are invisible but I threw a bag of flour at their general location? Rule for that. I want to blast this guy into geostationary orbit in a way that is game legal and doesnt require DM decisions? THERE IS A RULE FOR THAT. I want to scry a city and have that spell proceed to kill every living thing in a 10 mile radius while potentially leaving all the buildings untouched? THERE IS A GOD DAMN RULE FOR THAT!
Have a crack at making your own character, then feel free to upload the sheet here for critique, but for the love of all that is holy, SPECIFY THAT YOU ARE NEW, AND THAT THE GAME IS LIKELY VERY LOW OPTIMIZATION. Otherwise you will get people saying "Nah, its rubbish, go get 3 level 1 dips of these classes and then go wizard the rest of the way, make sure you wish for infinite wishes, and become a god, oh and get a pet terrasque as a mount that you then kill and bring back as a lich, and also you are made of dust and have immunity to everything except the kiss of a siren because you need that feat to charm people just by looking at you so they can kill the DM before they were born..." It happens more than you might think...


Bit much for a first pf char, that's why I was giving a more simple version. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, that's why I dummed it down a bit. Yes, between archetypes, feats, skills, different classes, prestige class builds etc etc, there are a few thousand variances that will work. It's his first pf char. He gave us a concept, we are showing him some solid choices.

[Rynjin]

Agreed with Calthropstu; I don't really expect anyone to know beyond basic rules ("I roll a d20 for most stuff") by the first session, and don't expect people to know more esoteric rules...pretty much ever, unless I've pointed them out before. **** like underwater combat, grappling, or even just stuff that doesn't come up until later (like Spell Resistance) don't need to be learned until they actually come up in game.

Learning the game piecemeal makes it far more manageable for new players.

[DrowPiratRobrts]

Lots of people diving in with "play this class" which is great, but just in case...

Throw out EVERYTHING you know about building a character. 5e lets you essentially pick a race, a class, roll for stats, pick a background, and GO.

3.p (3.0, 3.5 and pathfinder 1) treats character building as a MAJOR minigame in its own right. You can sink HOURS into building just a level 1 character. Your first character will probably take you at least an hour to get right. Print a character sheet for pathfinder, and take a look at it.

In no particular order, here are things you need to be aware of.


Advantage doesnt exist. Instead, 3.p is about maths. If you have "advantage", you get a bonus to that roll, usually +2. If you are at disadvantage, you get -2. These bonuses CAN (but dont always) stack infinitely if they come from different sources. Sometimes you will not only get a penalty, but ALSO be denied the benefit of your attribute bonuses to certain rolls. So be prepared to deduct that too.
There are 3 AC values. One for normal stuff. One for if you are unaware of your attacker (so just your base, and any protection from armour and spells). One for if your attacker can bypass protection (so just your base, and any "dodge" bonuses, like your dex mod). Also, miss chance is a thing. Sometimes attacks will have a 20% chance to just miss. THE DM IS YOUR FRIEND, ASK FOR HELP!
Saves are different to just adding your prof bonus to some attributes. They scale with class levels. But they are on your sheet. Keep them up to date, but just read the number off when needed.
You get far fewer class options IN A SINGLE CLASS (excluding archetypes, which arnt the same as 5e archetypes) than in 5e. But you get WAY more classes (and you can multiclass, but this is your first time, dont do that). And importantly, every odd numbered level, you get a free FEAT. These are not like 5e feats. These are typically minor bonuses to one or 2 things, or let you do one new thing. They take the place of 5e archetypes essentially, and let you define your character. There are hundreds of them. Dont get scared, only a few will be relevant. Ask for help.
Skills are IMPORTANT. No more rogue being just as good at opening locks as the barbarian. You can now invest in skills with skill points that you get each level. And you can really, really pump up those numbers with items, spells, etc. Take a look at them, learn to love them, learn to use them often.
Attacking is a tricky beast, but all the numbers end up on your character sheet. You are familiar with 5e. Prof bonus + attribute bonus + dice roll for attacks, Attribute bonus + dice roll to damage, right? Yeah, thats gone. Now your class has a "base attack bonus" which scales with level, and eventually allows for extra attacks on EVERY class. And sometimes things dont work the way you would expect. Attacking is now: BAB + attribute bonus (usually only str, or dex if its ranged or you have the Weapon Finnesse FEAT - just having the weapon isnt good enough) + dice roll + situational bonuses. But damage is just dice roll (and weapon bonus damage) UNLESS you have high strength, or a special feat. Dex does not usually add to damage. So if you want to go dex barb, know that you need to pick up other options for damage.
Position is EVERYTHING. 5e can be nicely played as a theater of the mind game. There are no (base) flanking rules, or highground rules, or anything like that. No way to help your friend in combat. But in 3.p, Flanking is a MUST. Flank with people to get +2. Get high ground for another +2. Be invisible for ANOTHER +2 AND they dont get to use their Dex bonus to AC. Get your friend who is bad at attacking to "aid another" (attack roll against AC 10 to essentially distract the enemy) for, you guessed it, yet another +2. Be bigger, be faster, be stronger. Or be smaller, that works too. On that note...
SIZE ACTUALLY MATTERS. From small weapons doing small damage, to big people struggling to hit things, the size of your character, and their equipment, matters. Not much, but it DOES matter.
If you think something should affect your ability to damage someone, dont just ask the DM for advantage. Ask if there is a rule for that. There probably is. The sun is in their eyes? Rule for that. I threw marbles under their feet? Rule for that. They are invisible but I threw a bag of flour at their general location? Rule for that. I want to blast this guy into geostationary orbit in a way that is game legal and doesnt require DM decisions? THERE IS A RULE FOR THAT. I want to scry a city and have that spell proceed to kill every living thing in a 10 mile radius while potentially leaving all the buildings untouched? THERE IS A GOD DAMN RULE FOR THAT!
Have a crack at making your own character, then feel free to upload the sheet here for critique, but for the love of all that is holy, SPECIFY THAT YOU ARE NEW, AND THAT THE GAME IS LIKELY VERY LOW OPTIMIZATION. Otherwise you will get people saying "Nah, its rubbish, go get 3 level 1 dips of these classes and then go wizard the rest of the way, make sure you wish for infinite wishes, and become a god, oh and get a pet terrasque as a mount that you then kill and bring back as a lich, and also you are made of dust and have immunity to everything except the kiss of a siren because you need that feat to charm people just by looking at you so they can kill the DM before they were born..." It happens more than you might think...


This is great! Thanks! To be clear, I've played a little 3.5 and a bit more d20 Modern, so a lot of these concepts are already there. I just don't know the ins and outs. So thanks for some of the help with that. This is generally what I expected from the system, but I wasn't sure how close it was to 3.5 or Modern and I'm not going to read dozens of pages of rules. I'll read what's relevant to creating whatever character I go with and definitely rely on the DM for the rest.

[Albions_Angel]

You could have opened with "I played 3.5e before, and a bit of d20 modern".

Pathfinder 1 IS d20. Its literally a bunch of 3.5e players who went "damn, 4e isnt what we wanted, lets reopen support for 3.5e". It plays nearly identically. My great long list becomes:


Alternate Class Features (ACFs) are renamed Archetypes. There are more of them. They are nice.
Grapple, Trip, Disarm rolls have been replaced by the complicated-looking, easy-playing Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense.
Cantrips and Orisions (divine cantrips) play like they do in 5e, not like they do in 3.5e. They are unlimited options for small magics.
Familiar monsters sometimes have funny names... because copyright...

[DrowPiratRobrts]

You could have opened with "I played 3.5e before, and a bit of d20 modern".

Pathfinder 1 IS d20. Its literally a bunch of 3.5e players who went "damn, 4e isnt what we wanted, lets reopen support for 3.5e". It plays nearly identically. My great long list becomes:


Alternate Class Features (ACFs) are renamed Archetypes. There are more of them. They are nice.
Grapple, Trip, Disarm rolls have been replaced by the complicated-looking, easy-playing Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense.
Cantrips and Orisions (divine cantrips) play like they do in 5e, not like they do in 3.5e. They are unlimited options for small magics.
Familiar monsters sometimes have funny names... because copyright...



Haha, I thought I did but that was in a private message to someone else. Sorry about that.