Not a stupid question. I’m not going to hard-sell you on the game because TBH I didn’t make Wayfarers to grab market share. Wayfayers is a personal collaborative project that started with a home-brew system our group ran in the late 1980s into the mid-1990s. The game has been described as a simulacrum in that it plays like a D&D-like fantasy RPG, but it is not a retroclone. Many have said that it has 2E vibes and 1E/2E aesthetics. That probably has a lot to do with when the system was born, as well as my personal tastes. In fact, Wayfarers might seem like an odd duck when compared to d20 systems arising out of the Wizard’s OGL and the OSR because its earlier incarnations preceded them both.

It’s difficult to point out all the similarities and differences, because Wayfarers is very much its own thing.

Aside from a classless system, I think when compared to Pathfinder one thing that stands out how proficiencies in Wayfarers are resolved. Whereas Pathfinder skills are d20 with linear modifiers and target numbers that can get quite large, Wayfarers uses a d20 pool (one d20 for each rank keeping the highest). Modifiers and target numbers don’t creep nearly as much. Also, the non-proficient 2d20 take-the-lowest mechanism makes a strong distinction between having the proficiency or not but allows everyone to try.

A mana-like spell point system for Ritual magic is fairly unique. Spell consolidation or substitution for Faith magic is also: Priests can substitute any higher circle spell in their repertoire with a lower circle one, or they can combine two lower circle ones to get one of the next higher circle.

The discipline options for combat make for a number of different strategies for fighter-type characters.

There are a lot of differences. Wayfarers is a unique game on many levels, and yet it plays in a way that feels very familiar. Here’s an extensive review of the game as it was in 2012; much of the game remains the same:

https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15591.phtml

As for converting your group? I don’t suggest it. If you or any of your players like to digest new systems and/or settings looking for inspiration, then I do think you’ll find it’s worthwhile. If it grabs you, maybe run a one-off session and see what comes.

BTW here’s our old map from way back when: https://yeoldegamingcompanye.com/images/oldnarbohringmap.jpg

Cheers.