Pathfinder Remaster Changes Previewed in Rage of Elements Books

By Christian Hoffer

Paizo has provided a glimpse into the upcoming changes to its signature game Pathfinder thanks to its upcoming Rage of Elements book. Various outlets have been running previews of Rage of Elements, the new Pathfinder 2E rulebook coming out next month. Roll for Combat had one such preview, which included a sidebar of some of the rules and terminology changes that will be included in the upcoming Pathfinder Remaster project. Some of these changes were previously detailed or discussed by Paizo, but other changes were "new" and shows just how deep Pathfinder is being tweaked to fully separate it from Dungeons & Dragons. 

Some of the changes include: 

  • The removal of alignment
  • Attribute modifiers have replaced ability modifiers, with ability scores being removed.
  • Mephits are now called elemental scamps.
  • Genie lore has been overhauled to bring them more in line with folklore traditions.
  • The languages of the Elemental planes have been renamed. 
  • The Flat-footed condition is now called off-guard.
  • Attacks of opportunity are called reactive strikes
  • Spell levels are called spell ranks
  • Spell schools have been removed from the game. 
  • Positive and negative damage are called vitality and void damage. 

Related:

The full list of changes can be found at the 26 minute mark in Roll for Combat's video.

Paizo announced the new Pathfinder Remaster project earlier this year, with the aim to remove all OGL material from the game. Most of Pathfinder's core mechanics aren't being touched in Pathfinder Remaster; however, the changes will impact both the lore of the game and how some monsters and mechanics are named. One of the most notable changes is the removal of the drow from Pathfinder lore, with serpentfolk replacing the drow in most cases. 

The first Pathfinder Remaster rulebooks will be released in November, while Rage of Elements will be released in August. 

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