Paizo Publishing will release smaller trade paperback editions of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and Bestiary, the two primary reference books for Pathfinder, this Fall.  The trade paperback editions will include the same content as the hardback editions with the same page counts, but a trim size of 6.5” x 8.4", with smaller type and images. 

The goal is to significantly lower the price barrier to entry to Pathfinder games, according to Paizo Publisher Erik Mona.  Both prices dropped 50%, the Core Rulebook from $49.99 to $24.99, and the Bestiary from $39.99 to $19.99.  Mona described the genesis of the new format.  “One of our German partners does another game in that size and we fell in love with it,” Mona said. “My background is in organized play, so I started in this business by going to cons all the time and playing games. One of my thoughts has always been if there’s a way to reduce the weight load of some of our gamers who are going to con after con, that would be great to do and finally we hit upon a paper stock and a size that we thought worked perfectly.”