Pathfinder Second Edition Gets a Remaster: Four New Rulebooks to Streamline the Game
Pathfinder Second Edition is getting a makeover. Paizo Publishing has announced the Pathfinder Second Edition Remaster Project, which aims to offer a fresh entry point to the game with four new hardcover rulebooks. The first two books, Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core, will be released in November 2023. The Pathfinder Monster Core will follow in March 2024, and the Pathfinder Player Core 2 will be released in July 2024.
The remastered rulebooks are compatible with existing Pathfinder Second Edition products and will incorporate comprehensive errata and rules updates. The new presentation will also include some of the best additions from later books. The goal is to streamline the rules and consolidate important information into a unified place, making the game easier to learn and more fun to play.
The remastered books will replace the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Gamemastery Guide, Bestiary, and Advanced Player’s Guide. Existing Pathfinder players can be reassured that the core rules system remains the same, and the overwhelming majority of the rules themselves will not change. The newly formatted books will include key information in a streamlined presentation inspired by years of player feedback.
The new core rulebooks will also serve as a new foundation for publishing partners, transitioning the game away from the Open Game License to the more stable and reliable Open RPG Creative (ORC) license. This transition will result in a few minor modifications to the Pathfinder Second Edition system, notably the removal of alignment and a small number of nostalgic creatures, spells, and magic items exclusive to the OGL. These elements remain a part of the corpus of Pathfinder Second Edition rules for those who still want them, and are fully compatible with the new remastered rules, but will not appear in future Pathfinder releases.
Paizo is also working with its digital partners to integrate new system updates seamlessly, and the new rules will be uploaded to Archives of Nethys as usual. Legacy content that does not appear in the remastered books will not disappear from online rules. However, PDFs of legacy products will not be updated with the updated rules.
The remastered books will be part of ongoing Pathfinder Rulebooks subscriptions. Existing subscribers will have the opportunity to “opt out” of these volumes if they wish. The remastered rulebooks will also have Special Editions and Pocket Editions.
The Pathfinder Second Edition Remaster Project will not impact the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, at least not yet. The PaizoCon (May 26th–29th) event will showcase more about this exciting project, culminating in the first full look at the project.
The old is new again. But in all seriousness, going down the path of “WotC proofing” the product franchise was a known eventuality. Losing alignment is gonna be weird… been a pillar of my tabletop experience for decades.