Pathfinder to Drop Alignment and Ability Scores

Paizo has confirmed that their upcoming Pathfinder remaster project will remove both the alignment system and ability scores from the Pathfinder game system. Earlier this week, Paizo announced the Pathfinder Second Edition Remaster project, which will re-publish the four core rulebooks under the company’s Open RPG Creative License. In addition to reorganizing the rules to make them easier to access and follow, Paizo will also be making several adjustments to remove systems and mechanics that could be tied to mechanics previously accessible via the Open Gaming License, which previously provided a framework to use spells, monsters, items, and certain rules from the “3.5” and 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. 

In the initial press release announcing the Remaster project, Paizo confirmed that the traditional alignment system would be removed from the core Pathfinder products and all Pathfinder products moving forward. Interestingly, while Dungeons & Dragons has used alignment mainly for roleplaying purposes and flavor in recent years, Pathfinder has several mechanics tied to alignment, including damage that impacts creatures of different alignments differently. The alignment system is being replaced by an emphasis on the Edicts and Anathema system already found within Pathfinder Second Edition rulesets. 

Additionally, ability scores are also being removed from the game. While Ability Modifiers (which are much more fundamental to the game) will remain unchanged, Ability Scores will be totally pulled from the game. Mechanically, this won’t have much impact on the game as any Pathfinder rule that used Ability Scores can easily be swapped out with an Ability Modifier, but it still represents a major turning point as Pathfinder attempts to totally break away from its D&D roots. 

The new Pathfinder Player Core rulebook will contain eight classes – bard, cleric, druid, fighter, ranger, rogue, witch, and wizard – and will add the leshy as a core ancestry option. Other ancestries and classes will appear in the Pathfinder Player Core 2 book released in 2024.