OK, My rpg groups wants to play pathfinder and after borrowing a friend's books and reading through I agreed.
Now I downloaded some free pdf stuff and my friend is lending me a few things but I want to get my own books.
Just so you know I have been rpging for 33 years now so I am not a novice rpger but am new to pathfinder. I had played some D&D 3.5 but not a lot and only GMed it a couple of times but am an old D&D and AD&D player/DM.
I got about $400 dollars in credit at an rpg store which sells current and used rpg material which I am going to use to get stuff.
So I need to ask What is essential to have? I have a pretty good idea but it never hurts to check.
My friend lent me the Rise of the Runelord modules and I thought about getting the Anniversary ed. but then I also heard that the modules have stuff the anniversary ed. doe not. What can you tell me about that?
Besides essentials what have you found to be helpful to have and why?
What adventures do you recommend as I have 2 experienced players, 2 who have some rpg experience and 2 Newbies?
Thanks in advance and I am really looking forward to rpging pathfinder for what I read so far I really enjoyed.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Well, first and foremost, you want the Core Rulebook. Next up is the Advanced Player's Guide, or as I like to think of it, "Core 2: The Sequel". ;)
I use Ultimate Combat a bit, but I wouldn't call it "essential" right out of the gate. I use Ultimate Magic even less.
If you're GMing, the Bestiary is pretty much a must.
I also highly recommend Paizo's "Condition Cards", as well as their GM screen. The cards are incredibly handy; just tell the player they have such-and-such a condition and hand them the appropriate card (and pull one out to reference yourself). The GM screen has lots of charts and abbreviated notes on skills and other common "need to look it up quickly" topics.
After that, it starts becoming mostly just your personal preference. Welcome to Pathfinder!
You can look over the books Jiggy mentioned on the online PRD
I would pick up the core rule book, and the beastiary. That is all you need at first. Oh, and maybe a grid to play on and some minis for the PCs and monsters. Pathfinder is more grid focused then AD&D.
I would also pick up the first issue or two of an Adventure Path. It is important to know that Paizo printed several AP's (and lots of other stuff) before the switch from 3.5 to Pathfinder was made. Since you are getting used to a new system, I would go 100% Pathfinder and not try to mess with converting older products until you get the hang of Pathfinder.
That is where I would start...
But there is just so much more great stuff. Check out the "PRD" link in the box of links on the left part of your screen. You can check out Ultimate Magic, Gamemastery Guide, Advanced Race Guide, and more. Figure out what you like, and go from there.
Then there is the Golarion Campaign setting which is amazing!
As an old AD&D player myself, I can assure you that you are really going to love this game!
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I really like the Bestiary box of pawns. I cant wait for the NPC codex box of pawns. I dont know if you have a collection of minis or do not even use them. However if you do, the bestiary box is pretty cool to have. Bestiary box 2 is do in a few months I believe.
If you are new to being a GM you might want to look at the game mastery guide. I was hoping it would be more like DMG II from 3.5. Its a good book though.
To start I suggest...
Core Rulebook
Gamemaster Guide
Bestiary I II (III)
Rise of Runelords (Adventure Path Campaign Book)
Advanced Player's Guide
Rise of the Runelords is very good. I would recommend the anniversary edition as it has everything updated to pathfinder and is a good looking book besides.
The other adventure path I would most highly recommend is Kingmaker. Kingdom building in a sandbox.
Essentials: Core, Bestiary, Advanced Player's Guide, Inner Sea World Guide.
For books beyond the essentials, I highly recommend the 'Faiths of Purity/Balance/Corruption books. Even if you don't use the base setting of Golarion, these are really good at helping players understand the who/what/where/when/why of a diety's worshipers.
Distant Worlds is another I can't recommend enough. A detailed solar system with all many of different planets! Pulp fiction venus and mars! ''
Ultimate Magic and Combat have very nice additions to the crunch of the game. Options are always nice. NPC Codex is a great way to save time.
Big fan of the Critical Hit & Fumble decks, along with the various face cards and having your own Harrow deck is great fun. My player's loved it when they met an old Varisian woman and I read their fortune.
Thanks for the input. I am checking things out tonight and will be going tomorrow to get at least what was suggested for starting books.
I do have minis and a grid map but I am thinking of picking up some more or possibly the bestiary box.
I am thinking of getting the beginner boxed set as well. For those who got it did you find it to be helpful if you are getting the core book right away?
I think I am going with the Rise of the Runelords for the first adventure path for my players.
Any other thoughts or things I should consider or not consider until I am more used to the system?
Nobody recommended the beginner box!? For shame people!! Lol. Seriously beginners box is pretty good for beginner pathfinder players. I would even say its essential for new players
As well, once you've become accustomed to the paper part of character creation, look into Hero Lab and the pathfinder suppliments it has. You'll love the setup and arrangement for characters and the GM utilities.
Nobody recommended the beginner box!? For shame people!! Lol. Seriously beginners box is pretty good for beginner pathfinder players. I would even say its essential for new players
Normally I would agree with you, but the original post said, "Just so you know I have been rpging for 33 years now so I am not a novice rpger but am new to pathfinder. I had played some D&D 3.5 but not a lot and only GMed it a couple of times but am an old D&D and AD&D player/DM."
I don't think this guy needs the beginner box, he can jump right into the whole core rules. Perhaps stick with just core until you get a feel for the system, as many things in the advanced players guide are advanced in terms of game mechanics as well.
Again, I highly recommend the campaign setting book.
As only about half the group has much experience with rpgs, I would highly recommend the beginner box. You can easily adapt the beginning of RotRL to run with the simplified rules and it will be a good way to help everyone be on the same page rules wise. Once you feel the newer players are ready, transition to the full rules in Core is quite simple.
The condition and buff cards are very handy for helping everyone, but especially new players, remember what effects are in play and what they do.
The face cards are also useful because you can give the players an image to associate with npcs. It also makes it easy to transition between npcs, just hold up a new card.
How do you get by without a Bestiary? Even if all the bad guys are human, the summoning spells require it.
Well, I got to go shopping today and ordered a bunch of stuff with still store credit left over. Thanks for the ideas, it really helped me decide on what to get as a few items I don't think I would have considered otherwise.
Here is what I got:
Core Book
Beginner boxed set (may have a second smaller group of newbie starting as well)
GM Screen
GM Guide
Bestiary 1 ,2 and 3
Advanced Player Guide
Inner Sea World guide
Rise of the Runelords map Folio (just love maps)
Bestiary Box
Rise of the Runelords pawn Collection
Critical Hit Deck (Players request These)
Critical Fumble deck
Out of Stock was the RuneLord Anniversary ed. but I have use of the original 6 until I can get it. should be back in stock soon.
The ultimate books had neat stuff but nothing I saw as must have right now. Even the Advanced Player Guide is more for me have an idea of what I want to start adding as they get more comfortable with the rules.
I am thinking of getting either some flip maps or map packs but unsure of what I would need most. I figure the map that comes with the beginner set will give me a good idea if I want to get more or just use the game mat I have been using for years.
The only thing I am still not sure on is the buff deck or condition cards.
The other thing that looked at but was out of stock was the GM combat pad. Anyone use it and what do you think of it?
Well, after decades of experience gaming, here's the best advice I can possibly give you, and will save you a lot of money and trouble:
1 Buy yourself a wet erase grid mat, and water soluble markers (stick to black, as most other colors tend to stain). You also need a empty ice cream bucket and a rag. You will find yourself using random objects as terrain as time goes on.
2 Get one of those Combat Pads Pan mentions. They have little magnets that you can easily put your PC and NPC's on. Use your water soluble markers with this.
3 Lots of these guys advise you get books that they themselves like, but they aren't useful for GM's; they aren't critical. I happen to be much poorer than you are, so I have to be picky about which books I get. In order of importance, here's my suggestions:
Core book (physical hardbound copy is a must, no joke)
Gamemastery Guide (Pathfinder)
This has a lot of NPC's that I use regularly, and there are guidelines as well as additional rules that should help you.
Bestiary 1, 2, 3 (Pathfinder)
These are particularly necessary if you run old modules that nobody has heard of, as I do with the DCC brand. They also include more familiars as well as PC races.
You are going to need a lot of dice, and you should avoid buying d6's like the Plague itself, since they will reproduce on their own. I do not kid. Lately I have been having difficulty finding d4's.
Now, the Advanced Player's Guide is basically a tack on to the core book. Great stuff in it (especially mundane gear), but take my advice and ban the Summoner straight out. You don't want some idiot NPC outshining the PC's.
Avoid the two Ultimate books. Ultimate Combat is mostly for Monks, and it includes a real cheese class, the Ninja (has a ki pool that runs out, and is basically a superpowered class). I can't stand monks, as they bore me to tears and don't fit the traditional game setting, but you may feel differently. Ultimate Magic has a rep for severe power creep, and to a lesser degree so does Ultimate Combat.
I personally like the Advanced Race Guide, but not for the race builders. Works great, and I especially like the options for the standard races. Do not allow Humans to take the option where they can get a bonus spell if a spontaneous caster, like Sorcerer (very broken rule).
Ultimate Equipment should help you at times, because there are some things that the core book and the APG do not cover. Also has nice treasure generation tables.
Now, you will need minis. However, the temptation is to buy lots, but beware that you don't have 2 or more identical minis. Thus, don't buy boxed randomized minis that you can't tell what's inside. Even if they don't match the beast you have in the adventure, it helps tremendously for players to identify who they want to target, thus each mini should be different somehow from the next. I have not tried getting those boxed cardboard wafer stand up things that Pathfinder has out; I got almost all of my minis from ebay. Take my advice and don't use dice as stand ins for minis, as they get bumped too easily so you lose track of which is which.
I bought the little booklets Pathfinder has on Orcs, Goblins, Aasimar, and Tieflings. Both aasimar and tiefling books are essentially overpowered, as you can tailor the race to suit any class and even have higher stats than normal races. Use these two with caution. None of these books are duplicated in the Advanced Race Guide. Orcs and Goblins are underpowered imho, and so I have given my PC's 2 extra racial traits (you will know what these are from the APG) and an extra feat (Ankle Biter for Goblins, Endurance for Orcs). None of these books are crucial in any way.
Oh, and here's an interesting tip for initiative rules.
Instead of running init like you normally would, with the highest going first, try changing it. Instead, have players declare their actions in REVERSE order of init. Anybody higher up on the Initiative chart gets to interrupt those lower down. It amounts to a limited form of precognition, which sounds potent but really isn't.
What it ends up doing is keeping the players at attention, listening as to when the best time to act is. It is somewhat more powerful than standard initiative, but keeps them from goofing off with books or electronic doodads at the gaming table. Neat, huh?
My 2 copper
Download a free module or three that look interesting to you.
Use the PRD/SRD to get the information you need to build the characters you want to build.
If you will be GM on a regular basis, repeat step 2 with monsters, abilities, etc.
Play through a couple free modules so you can play-test your ideas.
-Then-
Check the citations on the PRD/SRD to locate the books that contain the information you use. Buy those books.