When comparing Pathfinder vs Warrior, Rogue, & Mage, the Slant community recommends Warrior, Rogue, & Mage for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Warrior, Rogue, & Mage is ranked 11th while Pathfinder is ranked 26th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Open gaming with lots of options
The base world is detailed but still open and there are tons of options.
Pro Compatible with D&D 3.x material
The D&D v3.x family was published under an Open Game License which encouraged third-party material and as a result provided an enormous pool of resources. And two D&D editions later, there is still a thriving market creating new 3.5-compatible resources.
Pro Modular system encourages creativity
The Dsystem is designed around building characters, monsters, magic items, etc., from small simple pieces. For each piece, any of countless others can be substituted, allowing near-infinite customization and variety.
Pro Light ruleset
Pro Easily expanded and adapted
Pro Beginner-friendly
Pro WR&M derivatives can be shared and even sold freely
Released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license, which means you can create WR&M derivatives and share them freely or even sell them. It’s the same open license Fate Core uses.
Pro Good if you like Simulationist RPGs
If you like RPGs putout by the big publishers, you will probably like this game.
Cons
Con Encourages character optimization outside of play
With so many options available to the player, and the almost unlimited ability to combine them, certain "character builds" are patently superior to others. Players who spend a lot of personal time poring over the rules can often create characters so powerful that players who don't optimize feel useless in games with those who do.
Con Detailed combat simulation slows down gameplay
Due to countless situational modifiers, players and DM alike have to put a great deal of thought into decisions about position, order of actions, etc., to the point that six seconds (one combat round) of "in-game time" frequently takes half an hour or more of play time.
Con Simulationist
GM-based
Unequal distribution of authority
If you like Story Games (i.e. GMless, Collaborative RPGs) this is not for you.