I’ve GM’d D&D 5e and Pathfinder 1e. My last campaign was in D&D 5e, but I… hope folks here know why I’m reticent to continue patronizing Hasbro. Anyway!
I wanted to get some of the core-est of the PF2e rulebooks. But… I’m confused. Looking for the PF2e “core, prime, base, main, starting” rulebook (the nearest equivalent of the PF1e “Core Rulebook” or the D&D 5e “Player’s Handbook”), I’ve got at least the following options:
- “Core Rulebook”
- “Player Core Remastered” (which has the same cover art as the next one)
- “Player Core Pocket Edition”
- “Player Core 2”
I think I don’t want the “Core Rulebook”. It sounds like it’s just an older, more poorly-organized version of largely the same content that’s in… one of the other options. It sounds like the “Player Core 2” in fact is not a newer edition of the “Player Core”, but more of an “expansion” for whatever the core rules are (a bit like the PF1e “Advanced Player’s Guide” maybe?) so I probably don’t want that if I’m really just looking to get familiar with the core rules first.
So assuming the previous paragraph is mostly correct that leaves the “Player Core Remastered” and the “Player Core Pocket Edition”. I… think the “Player Core Remastered” is hardback and… maybe only sold as part of a bundle like this one? The “Player Core Pocket Edition” appears to be only in paperback. Is the “Pocket Edition” not as “Remastered” as the “Remastered” version? (Does “Remastered” just mean it’s a newer edition than the “Core Rulebook”?) Does the “Pocket Edition” have all the same content as “Remastered” or does “Pocket Edition” mean it’s missing some of the content?
All of the above isn’t even to mention digital vs dead-tree versions. But I’m specifically looking for physical copies for purposes of this post.
You want to peruse https://2e.aonprd.com/
(Which is the “officially blessed fan-made SRD for pathfinder 2e”)
Specifically, the “rulebooks” section. Which has every p2e rulebook listed, along with a sortable release date and click-througb links to pazio’s online listing.
To run p2e remastered with dead-tree books, you’ll want the following four books.
- Player Core
- Player Core 2
- GM Core
- Monster Core
I picked up the “rulebook subscription” back when the remaster launched, which gave both a physical and PDF version at the MSRP… most of the time, though, i run via nethys.
Pazio does print small-font “pocket” versions, and higher-priced.“collector’s” editions, but the text inside is all largely the same (subject to erratta, and I’d guess possible layout changes.)
It’s also worth noting that “2nd edition remastered” was done to ditch Hasbro’s OGL and move to Pazio’s own copyleft license. The rules are about 95% identical, to the point where mixing characters or NPCs from either side needs only adjustments from the removal of alignment.
One of my players runs a pre-remaster popper inventor, and meshes fine with everyone else.
Yea you got it pretty much right.
Player Core is the newest edition remastered book for the basic rules of playing the game.
Player Core Pocket Edition is the same, but much smaller and paperback. It’s handy as a reference, but honestly the print is too small to read comfortably.
Player Core 2 is basically an expansion, in the same way that Monster Core 2 is an expansion on Monster Core. Notably it features new ancestries, heritages, backgrounds, classes, spells and items.
The Core Rulebook came out before the remaster. The rules are basically the same, but some things are simpler post-remaster and there’s a few different options they added/removed between the Core Rulebook and Player Core. It’s all 2nd edition, but this would be considered “legacy” content.
If you’re planning on GMing, you’ll definitely want the GM Core, which is the remastered content. When Paizo did the remaster, they split the CRB into GM Core and Player Core, though they reorganised some of the classes. So Player Core is a blend of the CRB and the APG and Player Core 2 covers the rest.
Also, all of the rules and pretty much anything that isn’t specifically lore or settings is available on Archives of Nethys.
Remaster Core
- Player Core
- Player Core 2 (Optional but highly recommended)
- GM Core
- Monster Core
- NPC Core (optional)
Remaster Supplemental (optional. often contains new classes, backgrounds, spells, items)
- Rage of Elements
- Howl of the Wild
- War of Immortals
- Guns and Gears (Remastered)
- Treasure Vault (Remastered)
- Battlecry!
Looks like a dead thread, but I’ve been playing PF2e since it came out. I bought the books to support Paizo, but literally haven’t used any (minor exception for adventure path books).
Me and my group almost exclusively rely on free tools: pf2easy tools - encyclopedia of rules and monsters. Great for looking up specific rules/stats
Path Builder - For building / Managing characters. Has an 8/10 mobile app and google drive sync (extra handy for moving sheets between devices)
Archives of Nethys - Authoritative source for rules. I really only use it for “exploring” new content. I don’t know if they’ve maintained this rate, but used to be new content/rules would be up on this site within 2 weeks of them being published in books.AoN’s been several months behind book releases since last year, but they’ve slowly been closing the gap. I think they’ve been flirting with being a month behind releases recently.
Starfinder 2e’s launch may drown them a bit again.
Star finder 2e
I didn’t know that was on the docket. Where can I fond out more about that?
It launches at Gencon! So, in like 3 weeks. Playtest info can be found here. It’s leveraging the Pathfinder 2e engine, and classes and bestiaries are cross-compatible, but they are not balanced against each other.
That’s amazing to hear. Lol, I had just put together a fantasy campaign for 2e to start next month. Guess that’s gonna get put in hold.
