Paizo Paizo Price Increases and Sustainability Efforts

Paizo announced a new pricing structure for their entire product line. The changes will go into effect for PDF products (Bounties, Quests, and Scenarios) effective October 25, 2023, and will apply to all PDF products. No other PDF prices will be changed. The new MSRP changes go into effect in April 2024 for all print products.

The first printing of the new Pathfinder core rulebooks – Player Core, GM Core, Monster Core, and Player Core 2 – will maintain the current $59.99 MSRP for at least the first printing as “We feel these books are essential first purchases for Pathfinder players and want to hold the line on price increases as long as possible to reduce the barrier of entry for new players.”

The new pricing structure:

• Bounties/Quests1 from $4.99 to $5.99
• Scenarios2 from $5.99/$7.99 to $8.99
• Special Interactive Scenarios from $14.99 to $19.99
• Flip-Mats from $16.99 to $19.99
• Flip-Mat Multi-Pack from $24.99 to $29.99
• 96-page Adventure Paths from $26.99 to $29.99
• Pocket Editions will range from $24.99-$29.99 to $26.99-$34.99 (varies by page count)
• Hardcover Prices will vary by page count:
  • 128 Page: $44.99
  • 192 Page: $59.99
  • 256 Page: $69.99
  • 304 Page with map: $79.99
  • Special Edition covers add $20 to the retail price

1: Bounties and Quests are short, stand-alone digital adventures designed for 2-hour sessions

2: Scenarios are Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society adventures previously priced based on play tier with higher-level adventures costing more. The prices will now be the same regardless of the level of the adventure.

Paizo also updated its current environmental and sustainability actions. The company already printed using soy-based ink that requires less ink per page with no toxic chemicals. Paizo is changing to FSC-Certified paper coming from ecologically sourced forests that prohibit deforestation and require protection of old-growth forests and biodiversity as well as protections for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Changes have also been made to shipping from the Paizo warehouse by changing shipping product partners and moving from foam packing materials to starch and cardboard. Full details are available on the Paizo Blog.

 

[payn]

I think there's always the dream of playing PF2 in person - so a Foundry module wouldn't cut it. Also PDFs and Archives of Nethys isn't ideal - at least not to my Gen Xer brain.
But yeah, I guess I don't need to get "everything" in print.

My gen xer brain is horribly disorganized. Papers everywhere, minis falling all over, books poorly marked, etc.. Moving to a laptop and PDFs when I played F2F was a game changer and life saver. So the PDF and VTT move wasn't too bad for me. Though, I do really miss face to face gaming.

 

[payn]

I use the OnePlus pad and it’s really nice, very quality design and resolution, very fast processor and such. Cheaper than Apple and Samsung equivalents, too.

On this note, Samsung Galaxy and Apple will have lots of bells and whistles included. They do tend to rasie the price 1.5 to 2X the cost. Though, we are not talking hundreds here either. Galaxy probably in the 130-180 range and Ipad 175-250 (unless you get refurbished). I'll admit I thought the fire would be a single use paperweight that couldn't hold up to additional use, but its been a huge value for 50 dollars.

 

[Retreater]

$40-50 for streamlined, shorter Players Book and $40-50 for streamlined, shorter GM Book. Sold as loss-leaders. That's what I'd expect.
But basically what one needs from the Core Rulebook is doubling in price now.

 

[Velderan]

$40-50 for streamlined, shorter Players Book and $40-50 for streamlined, shorter GM Book. Sold as loss-leaders. That's what I'd expect.
But basically what one needs from the Core Rulebook is doubling in price now.

So $35 Player Core pocket edition + $35 GM Core pocket edition + $35 Monster Core pocket edition is in line with what you'd want for prices then.

 

[Velderan]

My gen xer brain is horribly disorganized. Papers everywhere, minis falling all over, books poorly marked, etc.. Moving to a laptop and PDFs when I played F2F was a game changer and life saver. So the PDF and VTT move wasn't too bad for me. Though, I do really miss face to face gaming.

Same, I switched to using a laptop to run 5e in-person pre-COVID and it was a game changer. I imagine if I was running PF2e in-person, I'd handle it much the same.

 

[Blue]

Seems legit but are hardcover prices really that high now?

They really haven't risen much over time, and we all see that the pay rate for content producers, editors, and the like is really low.

 

[Reynard]

It's weird that people are "setting prices" in this thread. I think we can trust that Paizo is going to charge as low a price as they can while still being viable.

 

[Velderan]

I use the OnePlus pad and it’s really nice, very quality design and resolution, very fast processor and such. Cheaper than Apple and Samsung equivalents, too.

The only issue with that for me ends up being support. My 6 year old iPad just received a security update a few weeks ago despite Apple not providing feature updates for it anymore. I think I got it on sale at Best Buy for $350, so not too shabby for 6 years of frequent use.

 

[payn]

The only issue with that for me ends up being support. My 6 year old iPad just received a security update a few weeks ago despite Apple not providing feature updates for it anymore. I think I got it on sale at Best Buy for $350, so not too shabby for 6 years of frequent use.

At that price, im likely going in the direction of an Asus Transformer instead. Im gonna want full PC capability in a tablet package.

 

[Velderan]

It's weird that people are "setting prices" in this thread. I think we can trust that Paizo is going to charge as low a price as they can while still being viable.

I think it's weird people are getting upset about price increases that as @Blue mentioned haven't changed much over the years, the rules are available for free on AoN, PDFs are usually available cheaply in Humble Bundles at least once a year, and the economic factors of the printing industry aren't exactly a tightly kept secret.

Price increases suck. I'm not happy to pay more, but I accept it's a reality and I appreciate Paizo being transparent that they're coming and presenting options. Sadly the price increases will price some folks out, but I'd rather that happen before Paizo pulls a TSR and sells books at a loss thinking somehow a profit will emerge from that practice. We've seen how that story ends.