Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook
Paizo Publishing
Release Date: Already out
SRP: $49.99
Format: 576 pgs.; Full-color; HC
ISBN-10: 1-6012-5150-5
ISBN-13: 978-160125-150-3
Number of Players: 3-4 players
Playing Time: 2-3 hours to several days of accumulated time.
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Weighing in at 576 pages, the long-awaited Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook is a hefty tome; future generations of gamers will debate its bullet-stopping power with great zeal.  This volume seems to do double duty as both player’s handbook and GM’s guide, which may account for its impressive size.  The real question is this: after a year of waiting for the finished product does it measure up to expectations?

Its full-color interior boasts plenty of colorful and evocative illustrations -- no more than three or four pages pass without something to break up the text, illustrate a concept or denote a new chapter.  In style it bears a strong resemblance to the 800-pound gorilla of role-playing games (the Pathfinder System is based on D&D 3.5 after all), and yet there are subtle differences that set it apart.  For one thing, it’s a bit more streamlined than D&D 3.5 in its waning days, with the runaway collection of Feats, Skills and Prestige Classes trimmed and merged to a more manageable size.

The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook is well organized with easy-to-read text -- a blessing for those of us with older eyes.  It does measure up to all the hype; having a year and tons of feedback from fans to fix errata from the beta-test release doesn’t hurt, either.  The beta version sold out, and is now only available as a PDF download.

If you carry RPGs in your store, this is one item you’ll want on your shelves.  If you don’t carry RPGs, consider getting in on the ground floor by stocking this book.  Demand will be solid, as this is one system that a great many gamers are already familiar with.  The fact that thousands of copies of the beta-test version were sold over the last twelve months speaks volumes, not only of a stroke of marketing genius, but also of the months of hard work, dedication, and passion for gaming that went into this tome.

--Bill Bodden