Pathfinder Nexus, the rival RPG’s equivalent to D&D Beyond, is coming next year
Digital dungeon-delving.
A digital platform designed for tabletop RPG Pathfinder 2E, called Pathfinder Nexus, is arriving online next year.
Pathfinder Nexus is a “digital toolset and game companion” intended to be used alongside the fantasy roleplaying game Pathfinder 2E. In a similar vein to how D&D Beyond provides players and dungeon masters of Dungeons & Dragons 5E with an online platform to access content for their one-shots and campaigns, Pathfinder Nexus will offer a digital space for players and game masters of the TRPG.
Alongside a compendium of the roleplaying game and its available content, Pathfinder Nexus will feature a digital reader and tools to enable players and GMs to create characters, as well as view and interact with an online version of their character sheets. GMs and players will be able to use a virtual “playspace” that supports video chat to run and experience their Pathfinder 2E one-shots and campaigns. According to the platform’s developer, Demiplane, Pathfinder Nexus has an “extensive roadmap” for features to be added in the future.
Pathfinder Second Edition is a tabletop roleplaying game that has players becoming a group of characters travelling together across a fantasy world in search of adventure. Player characters may become members of the Pathfinder Society - an organisation that seeks to help people in need or set people off on epic journeys - or can decide to forge their own path across Glorian. In the game, players can create characters based on different classes and ancestries, before embarking on a quest determined by either the Adventure Path chosen by the players and GM - which is essentially a pre-written campaign - or by the GM’s own making.
Similar to Dungeons & Dragons 5E, in Pathfinder 2E players roll a d20 when they want their characters to perform an action. Rolling 10 or more above the target number results in a critical success with additional benefits, whilst rolling 10 or more under the number is deemed a critical failure with bad consequences as such. During combat, players are able to perform three actions on their turn, which can include moving and attacking, as well as performing spells.
Besides developing Pathfinder Nexus, which has been licensed by Paizo Inc. - the studio responsible for publishing Pathfinder 2E, alongside the spin-off sci-fi RPG Starfinder - the company Demiplane has already created an online platform that’s designed to be used for any tabletop roleplaying game that’s also called Demiplane.
Last week, Paizo announced that it would be voluntarily recognising the United Paizo Workers Union, after more than 30 staff members came forward earlier this month to form the organisation to secure better working conditions, pay and employee protections. The organisational action followed the recent firing of several employees, including customer service and community manager Sara Marie, who had worked for the studio for 12 years.
An early-access version of Pathfinder Nexus - called Pathfinder Primer - is currently available online, with users only being able to use the platform’s digital reader and forum functions as present. A more complete version of Pathfinder Nexus will be released in early 2022.