Pathfinder First Edition vs Regular Volk
Compare Pathfinder First Edition and Regular Volk side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Pathfinder First Edition | Regular Volk | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Vancian Casting | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Narrative, Character-Driven, Theater of the Mind, One-Shot Friendly, Low-Prep, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Most uncertain actions roll a d20, add relevant modifiers, and compare the total with a target or opposing result. Difficulty Class, Armor Class, and Combat Maneuver Defense are common targets; natural 1s and 20s can override some comparisons. | Roll 2d6, add the relevant stat plus small bonuses for a fitting item or trait, and meet or beat the Difficulty Score the GM sets. The same check resolves every action, attack, and beast action. Edge and Trouble add a third d6 and drop the lowest or highest die. Rolling double sixes on an attack lands a critical hit. |
| Dice | d20 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Very High | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | Open Game License 1.0a | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Publisher | Paizo Publishing, LLC | Timo Acker |
| Year | 2009 | 2026 |
| Best For | Groups who want long fantasy campaigns centered on detailed character development and tactical grid combat. | Groups who want a short, low-prep fairy-tale one-shot or brief campaign centered on a controlled shapeshifting risk, where a character's powerful beast form can consume them if they lean on it too often. It suits tables new to tabletop RPGs who still want some build texture from ancestry and curse choices. |
| Highlights | Eleven core classes progress through twenty levels with interlocking feat and class choices that support specialized builds. Combat makes positioning and turn timing consequential through attacks of opportunity and combat maneuvers. Prepared and spontaneous spellcasting draw from hundreds of level-gated spells, giving magical classes distinct planning and resource cycles. | Failing a roll while in Beast Form builds Beast Points, which escalate through animalistic compulsions and stacking debuffs to permanently trapping the character in beast form. Folding the character sheet along a marked line physically hides the volk abilities and reveals the beast ones, so the sheet itself shows which form a character is in. The GM builds any fairytale creature by picking one of five power tiers and an archetype such as Glass Cannon or Heavy Hitter, each carrying preset Difficulty Score, HP, and modifiers. |
| Considerations | Character creation and advancement require cross-checking large option catalogs and prerequisites, which can front-load decision making. Combat combines situational modifiers with nested action and exception rules, which can slow adjudication. High-level play layers additional character abilities and magical options, increasing preparation for players and GMs. | Combat uses no maps, grid, or positioning rules, so groups who want tactical movement or terrain play get no mechanical support for it. Entering Beast Form fully replaces a character's volk abilities, items, and weapons, so beast powers can never be combined with human-form gear in the same moment. A character who reaches 0 Health Points rolls on the Fate table, where a result of 6 or lower on the unmodified 2d6 means an immediate death that no bonus can prevent. |