Paizo Just Announced Pathfinder 2nd Edition

I can't say I'm shocked. I'm sure they tested some major ideas with Starfinder, and here it is, Pathfinder 2E is a thing.

I was never a big Pathfinder 1E fan, because I wasn't a big DnD 3.X fan. I preferred the OSR to DnD 3 or 4 and then 5E was pretty much what I would have designed in an edition.

From the announcement, it seems to take quite a bit from DnD 5E, not that that is a bad thing.

3 Modes of Play.

Backgrounds.

Proficiency Bonus.

No mention of Bounded Accuracy.

I dug the idea of using different Skills for initiative, if nothing I else I might swipe it.

I do hope Monster Design is truly easier, because designing monsters in Pathfinder, was in my opinion, a mess.

The 3 action thing is interesting, I wonder if it will replace iterative attacks for Fighters and such?

My concern is that Pathfinder, like the foundation it was built upon will continue with multiple, fiddly modifiers. I've gotten pretty spoiled by Advantage/Disadvantage. And while I've looked through Starfinder, it didn't move that far from it's inspiration, in my opinion. And I can tell you at the store, it sold great right after Gen Con, but the second print run has not done anything since coming in. But that is just my two stores.

And then there is the Third Party Support, will this be a boon or a bane?

I worry that by moving away from their stated mission of bringing DnD 3.X back to the audience felt jilted by 4E that they are going to lose more players than transfer over or give it a try. DnD 5E is a juggernaut and this could be a bad move.

I also wonder if the Powers That Be at Paizo would look at converting an older Adventure Path to 5E and testing the waters?

I will download the playtest and probably give it a spin and I'll certainly stay informed. I'm not saying Pathfinder 2E couldn't beat out DnD 5E for me, but it's got a long mountain to climb.