Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder are the two most popular fantasy RPGs in the world, and while they share the same DNA in terms of design, there are some key gameplay differences between the two. Pathfinder started out as a revised and updated version of DnD 3.5e, after Wizards of the Coast had moved in a different direction with DnD 4e. There are now new editions of both games, in the form of DnD 5e and Pathfinder 2e, and both of them are excellent tabletop RPGs that are well worthy of their success.

When comparing the two directly, it's fair to say that DnD 5e is a far better introductory RPG than Pathfinder 2e and is the better system for those who prefer to focus on roleplaying and aren't as heavy on the combat aspect of the game. Pathfinder 2e is a bit more complex and harder to pick up than DnD 5e, but its expansive character creation options and Pathfinder's abundance of magic items means that progression is more satisfying. DnD 5e, by comparison, makes it difficult to create unoptimized characters, especially after DnD changed the racial stat bonus rules, and players have an incredible amount of freedom to make the character concepts they want without needing to worry about rules. Both games are rooted in the d20 system created during the DnD 3e era, and people who go from one game to the other will see a lot of familiar elements, but there are notable differences in their gameplay.

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Pathfinder Has More Of A Numbers Focus Than D&D

A party facing down an Owlbear attacking a city in Pathfinder: Kingmaker.

DnD 5e players may be surprised by how numbers-heavy Pathfinder is by comparison. In DnD 5e, most of the math is done during character creation and the numbers on the character sheet slowly increase over time. When a character gains a bonus, it's usually in the form of an advantage roll or a one-off dice roll, rather than floating numbers. Pathfinder is also a lot heavier in terms of the bonuses provided by buff spells, especially as most buffing spells don't require concentration, which is one of DnD 5e's best tabletop RPG design choices in the game, as it means parties have to carefully choose which buffs they want to use, rather than spending the lots of time buffing before an encounter with everything they have.

The way critical hits work is also different in Pathfinder 2e, with a critical success or failure happening when the result is ten points above/below a target DC, rather than it being a static 20/1, which means there are more numbers to keep track of. This also crops up in Pathfinder 2e's action system, which gives players three actions to spend each turn, but using these to attack multiple times will impose a stricter penalty on each roll. Pathfinder 2e promised smoother play before release and it doesn't go as wild with the numbers as Pathfinder 1e did, but it's still more than DnD 5e.

Pathfinder Classes & Races Have Way More Options

An angel character from Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, wielding a hammer.

In DnD 5e, the bulk of the choices a player makes regarding their character happens during character creation. They will get to pick their subclass at level 1-3 (depending on the class) and will get to choose their Feats or stat bonuses every four levels. Some subclasses have choices that need to be made (such as the barbarian's Totem Warrior), and some spellcasters have strict rules about only getting spells when they level up, but there aren't that many major choices that need to be made when levelling up and the process usually doesn't take too long.

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By comparison, Pathfinder 2e party members have choices at nearly ever level. A character's choice of race (called ancestory in Pathfinder) have their own associated Feats that players can choose from when they hit level 1, 5, 9, and 13. Once the player selects a class, they get some static abilities, but they also get access to class-specific Feats, as well as General Feats and Skill Feats that apply to all classes. This is before spells and spell slots are factored in. There are a staggering number of character creation options in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook 2e alone, especially in terms of Pathfinder's many Feat options, giving players a ton of ways to customize their abilities, to the point where it can be overwhelming to new players. Once players get used to the rules, then the options at hand make the leveling up process a lot of fun.

Magic Items & Special Gear Are More Important To Pathfinder

An armored Pathfinder character riding a war horse, carrying a sword in one hand and a banner in the other.

One major shift that DnD 4e and 5e had from earlier editions was reducing the impact and number of magic items given out to the players. The fact that there are limits to the number of items that a player can be attuned to and a general toning down of the pluses given in magic weapons and armor means that they're not as impactful as they once were. This does have the effect of making the actual good magic items feel incredible, such as DnD's Curse of Strahd campaign and its Sun Blade, which feels like being given a medieval lightsaber.

In Pathfinder 2e, not only are magic items an important part of the game, but DMs are expected to give out a certain number of them to the players, along with other items of value (such as alchemical substances) and regular treasure. Those who have played both Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Baldur's Gate 3 will notice the difference in how much magical loot is distributed to the player. On the one hand, this gives a greater material feeling of reward from winning encounters, which is something that can be lost in DnD 5e, especially when using Dungeons & Dragons' Milestone level progression system. On the other hand, the abundance of magic items (and the ease with which players can make more) adds to the complexity of Pathfinder, both in terms of the options available to the player, and to keeping track of all of their modifiers.

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