WalterGM's page

There are so many great things in here; I just had to splurge them out.

-Instead of having only pregen characters for new players (which are the fighter, wizard, rogue and cleric) the player's guide in the box also has very simple instructions for how to make your own, "customized" version of those four classes. You can pick from an array of feats, skills, and equipment. It even includes rules for leveling all four classes from level 1 to 5.

-The character sheets provided have each area of the sheet (like skills for example) labeled with a letter (skills are "D") that corresponds to that section in the player's guide that's provided. This is such a cool idea, and it’s something that is sure to make character creation that much easier for new players.

-The player's guide includes options for race, skills, feats, deities, equipment -- just like the actual core rulebook but simplified for new players. As far as I can tell, none of the game mechanics are "dumbed down" (like Castle Ravenloft for 4e), which means that if new players enjoy playing with the Beginner Box, they'll enjoy playing Pathfinder!

-The player's guide also includes a sort of quick rules section for combat and status conditions which I actually might steal for my home games (easier than thumbing through a whole book).

-The GM guide included is really incredible. In addition to explaining the role of the GM, how to read stat blocks and craft a convincing narrative, it also details how to start your own game, with tips like: how to draw out and plan dungeons, how to balance combat encounters, settings you can use, story hooks, magic item tables, NPC suggestions, and several pages worth of monsters straight from the bestiary.

- In addition to a simple adventure designed for new players with a new gm, there is also a solo adventure that reads (and I assume plays) quite nicely. The simple adventure includes such things as: sneak attacks, traps, treasure, harrowing danger and even a dragon! Throughout the gm handout for the adventure are rules breakdowns for skill checks, combat, and monster tactics. Very nicely done.

-There is also a flip mat included. One side is blank squares (tan colored), and the other is the dungeon used for the adventure provided in the box. The dungeon side is easily reusable in future games (provided you have new players).

-The token sheets provided for the players and monsters are actually very nicely detailed and, at least for me, are going to see use in other games.

-There’s even a plug for Pathfinder Society in the form of a one page ad that comes in the box. Not entirely relevant, but it’s something neat that I’m going to post in my local gaming shop to advertise for Society, so it was nice to have a little more icing on the already superb cake that is the Beginner Box.

The first villain
table 1: almost TPK. He opened with a color spray from his hidey-hole and and stunned the level 3 paladin while knocking the cleric out for 3 minutes. The barbarian and wizard moved up, only to get burning hands'd for max damage, dropping the wizard. The barbarian then opened the door, only to get tripped by the sorcerer's waiting whip feather token, followed by a elemental ray that dropped him into negatives. The next 10 rounds were a dance between a disarmed, frequently tripped paladin swinging with his gauntlet (he had no back up weapons) and the sorcerer expending all of his elemental rays, fighting with the paladin's own sword for a couple of rounds, before tripping him and fleeing as the whip ran out of juice. All of the -HP players stabilized, and the party did not wipe.
table 2: Kicked open the secret door and two shot the boss (gunslinger / ranger combo).

The dwarf in the forge
table 1: They approached with diplomacy, coin, and good-will, and learned all about the cleric end boss waiting for them above (already alerted by the sorcerer). They did so well, that I allowed the dwarf to accompany them for the rest of the encounter, although he never entered combat. The dwarf also disabled the steam vents above.
table 2: The gunslinger shot the dwarf as he opened his mouth, crit, and killed him.

The final boss
table 1: The barbarian one shot her: power attack, greatsword; with the help of the captured sorcerer (they got him coming up the stairs), they easily closed the portal and dispatched the fire beetle and the lemure.
table 2: The ranger got swarmed by the three monsters and died instantly. The barbarian got tripped by the whip, hit by a steam vent, and bullrushed into lava by the lemure. They almost TPK'd. They also spent 10 minutes figuring out how to close the portal. Half of them failed completing faction missions because they sped through the scenario.

Here are some facts about goblins that Paizo included in the scenario, which I thought was the best part of the entire game.
- They will steal and swallow flasks of alchemist's fire to use later. These flasks have a chance of exploding. My players lost a goblin this way.
- They have a natural affinity for wolves and will attempt to wrangle / ride any encountered wolves to freedom. My players lost a goblin this way.
- They are never to be trusted. Throughout the game I had the goblins feed my players misinformation, distraction, and overall sew tiny seeds of dissent among the PC's.

By the end of the adventure, they were more than happy to see the remaining pair of greenskins off and have whenever a new scenario has them encounter goblins, they have an entirely new respect for their wicked intent. My favorite thing is that now, whenever we have a new player showing interest in the game, one of the veterans will put an arm over the newbie's shoulder and say. "Well friend, let me tell you something about goblins." This is how being a GM should feel, like you play the emotional strings in your players hearts as easy as a guitar player strums chords. I broke 5 people's spirits that night with goblins. Goblins!