ElmoFromOK not a muppet

Pathfinder RPG

Interesting news from paizo! They have announced their OWN gaming system. I imagine that they got tired of waiting for information from WOTC about DnD 4.0 and had impatient Pathfinder subscribers that wanted to know where they were going with the adventure path. So they choose to take their future into their own hands and forge a new destiny of sorts.

"Paizo Publishing today unveiled the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, a tabletop fantasy roleplaying game that will serve as the anchor for the company's popular line of Pathfinder adventures, sourcebooks, and campaigns. Today marks the beginning of a year-long Open Playtest of the new rules, which are based upon the popular 3.5 rules available under the Open Game License. The Pathfinder RPG is designed with backward compatibility as one of its primary goals, so players will continue to enjoy their lifelong fantasy gaming hobby without invalidating their entire game library. The first Pathfinder RPG Alpha release is available now as a free 65-page PDF download at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG. Until the finished Pathfinder RPG's release as a hardcover rulebook in August 2009, all of Paizo's popular Pathfinder-brand products will continue under the current 3.5 rules set."

 And instead of trying to get it all right behind closed doors, they are wisely utilizing their entire fan base.

From Lisa Stevens, the CEO:

"What's got me really jazzed about the Pathfinder RPG is the fact that, for the first time that I'm aware of in the history of RPGs, there is a fully open playtest available to anyone who wants to get involved! There are no secret playtest groups bound by non-disclosure agreements—anybody who wants to contribute to the process can do so, just by signing up for an account on paizo.com, downloading a FREE PDF of the playtest rules, and telling us—and the rest of the world—what you think. By basing the Pathfinder RPG on the 3.5 SRD, we are taking advantage of the fact that tens of thousands of GMs all over the world have already been playing this game system and have some great ideas about how to improve what we think is already the best rules system in the business. With this kind of brainpower behind the Pathfinder RPG, I know that when we release the finished product in August 2009, it will be the best game that it can be!"

I think this is a smart move on their part.  They have significant momentum right now with the Pathfinder products.  Waiting for WOTC to get their act together could cause them to stumble. Plus their is really no way the move to 4.0 will not divide the RPG world (atleast those playing d20 based products) and Paizo is smart to step away from that mess.

 Curious to see how they pull it off?  You can read more about it and download a pdf version of the Alpha release here:  http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG