Now is the best time to try the biggest D&D rival, Pathfinder

A god has died in Pathfinder’s central campaign setting, and it represents an exciting new time to jump into one of the best tabletop RPGs.

Recently, Paizo has been rolling out a series of products focused on War of Immortals, a new meta-storyline focusing on the death of the war god Gorum and its effects on the world of Golarion. In addition to shaking up its core campaign setting, Pathfinder will also receive a host of new rules additions, including new character classes, new lineages, and the return of mythic play as a new subsystem. War of Immortals represents a brand new jumping-on point not only for the Pathfinder game, but also the unique world that the game takes place in.

Make it rain

For those unfamiliar with Pathfinder, the game is a fantasy tabletop RPG that emerged as an alternative to Dungeons & Dragons in the early 2000s. The game has always leaned into crunchier rules and more options for players, both in terms of character creation and what a character can do in and out of combat. While Pathfinder has similar trappings to D&D in terms of using a D20-based system and fighting dragons, the game features many unique classes and ancestries meant to encourage players to forge their own path instead of sticking to standard fantasy options.

Unlike Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder has only one “official” campaign setting (although players are welcome to create their own homebrew realm). Golarion is a rich world with a slew of cultures, iconic characters, and plenty of conflicts and stories that are explored in official Pathfinder adventure paths and lorebooks. Perhaps most importantly, Golarion is a world that has changed over the course of the game.

Each adventure path has a canonical ending that impacts the wider world of the game, setting up future conflicts and stories. A barmaid in an early adventure path is now the empress of a far-off country, while a once-imprisoned lich now threatens all of the living. Even Anastasia (the lost princess of Russian fame) is now the leader of a frozen land once ruled by winter witches. Big changes are the norm for Pathfinder fans, but never quite in this explosive fashion.

War of Immortals represents a first for Pathfinder – an event that spans multiple adventures, rulebooks, and even tie-in novels. The catalyst for War of Immortals was revealed in August’s Prey for Death adventure – Gorum realized that his existence caused evil to fester in the mortal realms and manipulated the mantis god Achaekek into killing him. Gorum’s armor exploded and the remnants of his godhood manifested as rain that poured across Golorian, spreading both war and sparks of divine power across the world and potentially into the hands of player characters.

For players, the War of Immortals rulebook provides options on how to create characters that are impacted by Gorum’s so-called Godsrain. The book contains rules on playing as an animist and an exemplar, the latter of which is a demigod-like character. For characters impacted by the Godsrain itself, players can also choose to utilize Mythic play, which opens up even more character-building options and greater threats and stories for players to tackle.

Choose-your-own-blockbuster

Gorum isn’t the only god dying in War of Immortals. The Lost Omens Divine Mysteries book explores the various faiths of Golarion, showcasing several new gods and also revealing other gods who died in the aftermath of the God's rain. We’ll also see some of that play out in the new Triumph of the Tusk adventure path, a new low-level adventure set in the orc nation of Belkzen. Finally, Paizo is releasing a new tie-in novel titled Godsrain that explores four of Pathfinder’s iconic heroes as they receive new powers in the wake of Gorum’s death and are sent to fight a Mythic threat.

Gorum’s death will continue to reverberate across future Pathfinder products over the next year, with next year’s expansion Battlecry exploring new martial classes as war continues to rumble across Golarion and future adventures showing off how other corners of the world are impacted by the spread of war and the death of gods.

One of Pathfinder’s greatest strengths is its deep and endlessly interesting world, and War of Immortals is a great place to dive in for the first time. The event should set up a new status quo, introduce fresh threats and mysteries, and offer up even more playstyles for players. If you want to dive into Pathfinder for the first time, you just need the Player Core rulebook and find some friends to join in the action.

Even if you aren’t ready to commit to a full Pathfinder campaign, the new Godsrain novel and Lost Omens Divine Mysteries book should provide a solid introduction into the world of Golarion and will likely spark an even deeper dive into Pathfinder’s lore in the future. If you want to experience what it’s like to live through a blockbuster-style event, get a Pathfinder character ready and dive into War of Immortals.

Want something new to play? Be sure to check our guide to the best board games, or these essential board games for adults.