Yesterday, Paizo — the TTRPG publisher behind fantasy series Pathfinder and current face of a new collaborative gaming licence in the wake of a disastrous month of about-turns for market leader Wizards of the Coast — revealed a massive Humble Bundle sale for the beloved game. Turns out it was not done letting you know just how easy it is to get into its games all of a sudden.
Although not on the scale of Pathfinder’s massive bundle — nearly $US400 ($555) worth of material for the system through Humble’s pay-what-you-want charitable format — today the company announced it’s also running a separate beginner’s sale for the game’s sci-fi sibling, Starfinder. Through February 18, sales of Starfinder’s Beginner Box and the hardcover and softcover versions of its core rulebook will come with a 25% discount, as well as a free PDF copy of the expansion sourcebook Pact Worlds, on Paizo’s storefront, if you use the code… well, “OPENGAMING.” You can see what they’re doing here.
Yes, it’s clear Paizo is going to pounce on the massive opportunity it has to introduce you to its settings, as despondant Dungeons & Dragons players look to other game systems in the wake of Wizards of the Coast’s months-long attempt to irrevocably alter the system’s Open Game Licence 1.0a — and ultimately scrap those plans after massive backlash. With Paizo now committed to spearheading development of a multi-system gaming licence of its own (dubbed ORC) in the wake of Wizard’s pullback, the publisher and its titles have faced a surge in interest that it makes sense to capitalise on.
And hey, if you are looking for another TTRPG to play, whether you’re leaving D&D behind or not? You can’t do much better than getting in on Starfinder while the getting’s good.