The Pathfinder beginner box is everything I could have asked for as a new Pathfinder player. It broke down the basic mechanics beautifully and helped me understand character building better than the Core Rule Book did. It was very organized and the blank side of the dungeon map has come in handy big time. This box was the reason I sucessfully GM'd for the first time in every RPG I have played. This box is a must have for any new Pathfinder players.

As a starter box, this one does do what it needs to do to teach but not overwhelm newcomers to Pathfinder. Even has a short solo adventure that someone can play through on their own to see if it interests them.

But, there is some small bonus even for those that are old hands at RPG's. I for one love the cardboard pawns that are included. Really sturdy cardboard with bases for use on tabletops. I hope that Paizo puts out more of them, as I would be more inclined to use them than standard metal or plastic minis.

My only real problem with this product is that the glue was already coming undone on the game master's guide book. As soon as i cracked it open I could see that most of the pages would fall out after even casual use. For the price of this thing, I would think better glue could be used.

Other than that small complaint I would call this product a success.

I bought this set to introduce my 11 year old daughter to role playing games. This is a great re-rendering of the Red Box –the product that introduced me to RPGs.
In the footsteps of the Red Box, the Hero’s Handbook begins with a seven page “choose your own adventure” type solo adventure. Following this is an example of play and a brief explanation of the main components of the game. Next up is a step by step icon based section on character creation that is very well put together.
The equipment section is also worth mentioning. Here the box breaks from tradition -and because of that, is a major improvement. A single easy to read entry with a picture, stat block, cost, and description all in one place!? Heresy!
Likewise the Game Master’s Guide follows the same formula: Starting immediately with an adventure that slowly introduces new rules and concepts to the players -sprinkled with tips along the way. As you move to the back of the book, the game opens up more with additional options and customization.
As a complete product, the box starts you out with a guided hand and slowly builds additional components as you become more and more familiar with the system. What you end up with is a product that you can start playing almost immediately that teaches you the game as you play, but which also contains enough variety and complexity that you do not immediately need another product to get you further.
I played through the adventure with my wife and daughter, and both were completely new to PnP RPGs. They were both able to handle two of the pre-generated PCs each and had no problem grasping the rules and concepts. I think this is a very good introduction to Pathfinder and Role-Playing Games in general.
My single complaint is the flip mat, as it is a combination of two previously released flip mats. I would have rather seen a completely new one introduced, which could have also been sold as a separate product with a note that it is a duplicate.

When it comes down to it for this product, the questions are; can it attract new players, and will they enjoy it?

Last night I ran the game for four members of the family boardgame/poker card game group (30-40's). Usually when I bring up the idea of D&D or roleplaying, they scoff at the idea. They tried Talisman once.

Last night, they oohed and aahed about the box. "That looks interesting." "Ok, but I don't want to read a bunch of stuff."

Boom, out of the box and we are running. Characters in hand, looking over the sheets, they seemed to really like the linking of the inner character sheet to the discussion paragraphs on the outer sides of the sheets. For once I was not telling them everything about the game and how to play it, they could read along easily and knew what all those numbers meant. Don't get me wrong, they still asked questions, but they were more informed questions and showed they were getting the system. Rather than some of the "What are we doing?" "What is this now?"

So we are in and running. I figure I might get them to do a few rooms, just to get the feeling for it. Nope, a few turns into half the dungeon, and then *they* are telling me that they want to go back to town to rest and get their daily spells back. Really? You understand they are daily spells? Yeah!

"How do we take out these goblins?" a wife asked her husband. After some discussion, they sneaked up on the goblin king and his cohorts. Oh it was great to see the strategy, even if they could have just talked with the goblins, seeing the mage just run in and cast his burning hands spell was a nice from a near 30 year old that never played a roleplaying game before. At 1am, well past our normal gaming time, they finally finished off the dragon (which rolled a few "1's") and couldn't stop discussing their heroic actions as we left my friend's home.

Great product, outstanding even. Success for at least four newbies. Now I'll see if I can get a few to join our other Pathfinder group.

Substantial books, a flip mat, pawns, pregens, dice....there is plenty of meat here to run a game for months! The tokens are durable and well-illustrated, and a good selection is included. The dice are typical solid-color polyhedrons -- plain but totally serviceable. Including a flit-mat was also a nice touch, adding more long-term value to the product.

But it is the rules that stand out -- they are a joy. Plenty of GMing advice, tons of explanation, a healthy amount of equipment; all in a clean new package. In fact, the superior organization, editing, and graphic design have me considering using the Beginner Box instead of the CRB for a future game!

I do have a few nit-picks:
* More than four blank character sheets should have been included.
* The price. Note that I'm not complaining about the value -- that is excellent. I just wonder if a $35 price point will discourage casual buyers. Perhaps trading the pawns for tokens (which don't require separate bases and could be printed on a single side) may have allowed the box to slip in under $30.

Overall, however, it's difficult to point to a better way to introduce someone to the hobby. (*****)

As perfect as anything like this can be expected to be. Just a great introduction to any table-top RPG. The first choose your path solo adventure lets those with no RPG experience jump right in and have a very fun time, and then getting more depth with creating characters and running games and even creating your own adventures. All presented with an easy to follow logical flow and with a perfect balance of detail and fun.
Highly recommended from the perspective of someone with almost no table-top RPG experience. I will be using this to introduce my daughter to the game, when she's old enough...

See my full review here.

I have to say, I think my old, beloved Red Box just got knocked out of its position as the best introductory rpg set. This is truly a beautiful product. It presents the Pathfinder rules in an easy-to-understand, streamlined manner. It makes use of lavish illustrations and diagrams to complement the instructions. It actually teaches players how to play and Game Masters how to GM.

The final evaluation of whether or not an introductory set works comes down to whether or not it can successfully teach someone who has no previous experience with role-playing games (particularly young players) how to play the game. For experienced role-players, it can be difficult to judge, as what seems simple to us might not be so simple to someone learning the game. I do know that during development, Paizo tested the set on teenagers who had no previous experience with RPGs, and that it tested very positively. Unfortunately, I don’t have any such person available to verify for myself. However, I can draw on my years as a teacher to say with quite a bit of confidence that this set will successfully teach the game. The box states that it is suitable for ages 13 and up, and this is definitely true. I suspect that even many 10- to 12-year-olds will also be able to follow the rulebooks and learn the game from them. Of course, only time will really tell for sure, but I suspect that the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game may find itself with many new players soon thanks to this excellent set.

I could discuss map quality, book layout, or the art on the monster/PC tokens, but that would be doing a great disservice to the absolutely fantastic time I had teaching my child to play the game that has defined my hobby life for over 30 years. Seeing the excitement in her eyes as she experienced things that I had unknowingly come to take for granted was a priceless gift for me. No amount of stars is enough to rate that feeling. Thank you Paizo, from the bottom of my heart.

Like many of you reading this review, I am usually the GM. It turns out those most wanting to play get saddled with this task. Well let me tell you, I had so much fun running the beginner box game, I can't wait for the next opportunity to GM. Now I am sure that most of the fun was derived from the fact that my usual group of players (we play 4e) finally had the opportunity to truly roleplay. They played the preconstructed characters, yet they spent most of their time hamming it up with each other and having a blast. It is odd that they felt more comfortable playing these characters than the ones they created and invested so much time in while playing a 4e campaign for over a month.

The rules were straight forward, and the gameplay was fast. The traps were wonderful, and the magic items flowed. So much magic actually made the game more fun I think. I guess I was being stingy in my other campaign, because boy howdy did Paizo give away a great deal of magic items in this adventure.

The player guide and gm guide were well written and COLOURFUL, presenting just enough information to get the game going and not so much as to bog it down. The monster manual that came along with the box is FULL of other foes, and the cut out pawns are perfect for future encounters. I cant wait to put together another adventure for the guys. This game world is a ton of fun.

Thank you Paizo!

In typical Paizo fashion, the artwork is outstanding and the layout of the guides is excellent. The material is presented simply and a new player should have little/no problem understanding the basics. I look forward to giving this to my 9 year-old to see if she can pick it up.

For someone obsessed with matching dice, I'm glad to see the dice are all from the same set, although new players might prefer more variety.

The pregen characters are nice, but I would have preferred a single, two-sided, glossy sheet rather than the flat, four panel design. However, the notations in the margins are great reference to help new players understand the layout and the fluff is cool.

The standup, mini figs are better than 2D chits, although if future editions included the four iconic WizKid/Paizo minis it would be perfect ;-). I plan on adding them to my box as soon as they are available.

The materials are normal Paizo-size for books so the box is perfect to store other soft-cover books like the Campaign Setting or Player's Companion line of products. The heavy laminated cardboard should be sturdy enough to stand up to the rigors of repeated transportation.

All-in-all a very good product. If the player-iconic plastic mini's were included, this would be 5-stars. Although, if that meant a higher price point, Paizo may have made the right call.