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Buy the Beginner Box. It's a stripped-down version of the game, but it's legit and pretty robust. It's not the "training wheels" version of Pathfinder, it's like learning to drive a car with an automatic transmission, and once you've done that for a bit it's really easy to learn how to drive a stick-shift (the full Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook).
There are many reasons why the Beginner Box won an award for RPG Product of the Year. The number one reason is "it is awesome at doing the job of teaching you how to play the Pathfinder RPG."
Once you've mastered the Beginner Box, get the Core Rulebook. And if you're new to GMing and want a lot of excellent GM advice, get the GameMastery Guide.
The beginner box is a light version of pathfinder RPG, but not light in the sense of potential fun... but if you want the whole thing and then some:
everything Open Game Content is an online library of all Paizo and much 3rd party Pathfinder rules material.
These forums are great for clarifications, character building, and optimization.
Basic books(rules stuff available at the above site)
- Core Rulebook
- Bestiary (+2+3+4 if you want)
more books(player options, available online as well):
Advanced Players Guide
Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Combat
Advanced Class Guide(very new)
Advanced Race Guide
And maybe a published adventure, unless you want to run your own stuff.
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I am gonna boil it down even further for you:
Buy just this stuff for the absolute bare bones basics:
Beginner Box
Core Rules
Bestiary 1
Game Mastery Guide (optional)
Why just that stuff? Because I wanted to repeat the exact thing everything else said in exactly the same order but with intense looking bold font so I could look really important and cool.
When you are ready to graduate from the Beginner Box, I recommend subscribing to the adventure path line. A new one is starting up this month.
Thumbs up to SKR for posting for a newbie. Class act.
We were all new once, right?
Ask MOAR questions on Messageboards!
People here are always ready to field questions and would love to help :-)
Thanks all!
Can someone explain the costs table here?
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gettingStarted.htmlIf the starting base is, say 10 - then wouldnt 7 be -3, not -4 ?
I think I'm misunderstanding the Ability Scores Costs table.Thank you!
The idea is that the point costs don't increase or decrease linearly, but instead change by greater amounts the further you get from the base of 10. Think of it as an increasingly steep curve. So, 3 points will get you up to a 13, but if you want a 14, it'll cost you 5 points, with that last move from 13 to 14 costing 2 more points instead of 1 more point.
The reason a 7 counts as 4 instead of 3 is probably because it moves you into a new ability score modifier bracket.
If you go from a stat of 13 to a stat of 14, that increases your modifier from +1 to +2. For this reason the points cost per attribute point goes up.
Similarly, when you reduce your stat from 8 to 7, you increase your attribute modifier penalty from -1 to -2, which could be a serious detriment to your character.
Example character:
Let's say I want to make a dumb brute character with maximum strength but I'm on a 15 point buy. So I start out with 18 Strength. That costs 17 points, so I'm now on -2. I also want decent Constitution - let's say 13. That costs 3, so now I'm on -5 points.
To get that back, I'll start by lowering my intelligence to 9. That gives me back 1 point, so now I'm on -4.
To achieve balance, I not lower my charisma to 7. This gives me back 4 points, so I'm now balanced on zero.
My stats are Str 18 Con 13 Dex 10 Int 9 Wis 10 Cha 7
If I play as a human, I can use my +2 bonus to increase my Strength to 20.
(Note that this is a fairly terrible character.)
The rules encourage the use of maps and miniatures (or some substitute, like pieces of paper stuck on to coins) but some people play without them.
You can play Pathfinder without maps and minis just fine, but it's a lot easier to keep track of what's going on with some sort of representation in front of you. And it makes it easier to introduce new players if they have something they can look at and consider 'their guy' and move it around.
The beginner box comes with a basic map that you can draw on and a pretty good selection of cardboard minis, so you can really use it to meet all your needs to get started.
On point buy, it may be easier to use something like this Point Buy Calculator or, if you get really into the game and want to make lots of characters, a full-on character building program like Hero Lab.
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Because there's so much content and much of it looks interesting, how do I allow my players to play an adventuer path they may have over-leveled? Can they?
I wouldn't worry about getting through absolutely everything in one campaign. By the time you get done with an AP, everyone should be ready to retire their characters and try something new.
Then, you can start a new AP with new characters, and everyone should be the appropriate level.
Also, rise of the runelords is for 4 people, but i only have three players... can I do it?
It should be fine. I ran through much of it with three PCs and it went well.
That said, I did give them max HP at every level (rather than rolling), which probably contributed to their survival :)
Cheers!
Landon
The rules don't work to well across different levels, by that I mean with too wide a spread.
For the higher level players, if they are only a little overpowered, then the adventure should catch up to them, otherwise modifying the difficulties of encounters is the way to go, and this is more an art than a science, and experience is the way to go.
Three players should be possible instead of four, but you might have to ease up on some encounters to accomodate this. With good builds/strategies it is absolutely possible as is.
But always take the power-level (which is a bit of a wishy-washy term) of the group into consideration when throwing challenges at them. Everything is possible, but much of it require experience to pull off.
:D don't despair, give it a try and have fun.
Quick tip: You might want to have one warrior type in the party (Fighter, Paladin, Barbarian etc), a Cleric, and a Wizard in the group, and if you can a NPC Rogue. That's the classic party composition and it covers all the necessary bases.
Another question... maps, minis, etc. Is this necessary or can I play Pathfinder "theatre of the mind" style?
Either way is fine, just want to know if the rules lean toward either.
In general it is useful to use minis (you can even just use spare dice as minis) because things like movement, range etc become much more immediate and necessary.
If you do buy minis, make sure that each one is different somehow from each other. That way the players can target specific minis, and take out enemies one by one, its what they like to do.
Basic books(rules stuff available at the above site)
- Core Rulebook
- Bestiary (+2+3+4 if you want)more books(player options, available online as well):
Advanced Players Guide
Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Combat
Advanced Class Guide(very new)
Advanced Race Guide
I wouldn't list the books in that order, nor would I advise all of them for a newbie. For example, Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat dramatically increase the complexity of the game, as does the Advanced Player's Guide.
Speaking as someone who has been where you are now, I would advise getting material books in this order:
Core Rulebook
Bestiary 1 (Bestiaries 2-4 are optional)
Ultimate Equipment
Gamemastery Guide (optional)
Advanced Race Guide
The various racial booklets; I can make a list if you like as I have them all.
None of the above increase the complexity of the game as you actually play it. The following will:
Advanced Player's Guide
Ultimate Combat/Ultimate Magic (essentially a continuation of what the APG is)
If you don't want to write your own adventures, go buy the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. It's an entire campaign in one book, and is the cheapest out of all the Adventure Paths.
If you are going to run any of the Adventure Paths, you are going to need to buy some of the Bestiaries. I'm running Carrion Crown now, and I found out that most of the adventures require Bestiary 1 and 2, because the stats aren't in the AP book.
BTW, does anyone know what if any Bestiaries I need to run Rise of the Runelords?
PS I think the Beginner Box is a waste of money in the long run. Yes, it helps you learn the game, but you won't be using most of the materials in it once you get the Core rulebook.
It should be fine. I ran through much of it with three PCs and it went well.
That said, I did give them max HP at every level (rather than rolling), which probably contributed to their survival :)
Landon
Me, I just let them have a NPC Rogue to hang out with the party, and I use him for jokes and whenever the players can't seem to make a given roll. When I get a 4th player, I will drop the NPC.
Basic books(rules stuff available at the above site)
- Core Rulebook
- Bestiary (+2+3+4 if you want)more books(player options, available online as well):
Advanced Players Guide
Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Combat
Advanced Class Guide(very new)
Advanced Race Guide
I wouldn't list the books in that order, nor would I advise all of them for a newbie. For example, Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat dramatically increase the complexity of the game, as does the Advanced Player's Guide.
Speaking as someone who has been where you are now, I would advise getting material books in this order:
Core Rulebook
Bestiary 1 (Bestiaries 2-4 are optional)
Ultimate Equipment
Gamemastery Guide (optional)
Advanced Race Guide
The various racial booklets; I can make a list if you like as I have them all.
None of the above increase the complexity of the game as you actually play it. The following will:
Advanced Player's Guide
Ultimate Combat/Ultimate Magic (essentially a continuation of what the APG is)If you don't want to write your own adventures, go buy the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. It's an entire campaign in one book, and is the cheapest out of all the Adventure Paths.
If you are going to run any of the Adventure Paths, you are going to need to buy some of the Bestiaries. I'm running Carrion Crown now, and I found out that most of the adventures require Bestiary 1 and 2, because the stats aren't in the AP book.
BTW, does anyone know what if any Bestiaries I need to run Rise of the Runelords?
PS I think the Beginner Box is a waste of money in the long run. Yes, it helps you learn the game, but you won't be using most of the materials in it once you get the Core rulebook.
They were in no specific order, and I left out ultimate equipment(which I love and use all the time) because it doesn't add much if you're CRB only.
I have 3 Beginner Boxes, mostly because a closing store had them cheaper than a battlegrid or a dice box alone - and it contains both... :). It also has a nifty little starter adventure. And a lot of good starter advise. Don't regret it one bit...
And a battlegrid is really nice for clearing up some combat mechanics. I would definitely recommend using a grid.