I am new to Pathfinder and have played the basic Black Fang scenario that came with the Beginner Box and want to get my friend into it. I have bought the Core Rulebook and will get some other books later. How do I approach or convince him to play it with me?
Be honest about the game.
I would say look at a number of modules, adventure paths, or create homebrew creations yourself, and then show your friends, they may be interested in one or more of them.
Discuss what kind of game they might enjoy: intrigue, adventure, hack and slash, comedy of errors, gritty survival, or some other game, because Pathfinder can do them all and adapt to what the table wants to play, and if you are all looking for the same thing so much the better.
Show them the artwork, the options, and finally talk to them about your experiences so far. A number of friends have begun playing because they saw a dnd video online and it looked fun. Or joined a conversation about our ongoing adventures and wanted to participate.
I would caution to start with core, unchained books, and your chosen modules to start otherwise the system can be a little unwieldy and daunting to new players and GM's.
Welcome to Pathfinder RPG, I hope you all have fun!
Thanks for the advice. That is a good idea.
From personal experience, the best way to get someone interested in playing is invite them to sit in for a session so they can get a feel of the game. It might intrigue them enough to want to play.
It can be obscure hobby.
Some people are uncomfortable with the role playing or others' perception of role playing. Some people just need a nudge. Some people prefer video games and can't be bothered. Some people are genuinely interested even before trying it out, but you can't be sure who. I have been very surprised at times over the years at who is or was a tabletop gamer. It's best to ask or invite. If your friends turn out to be resistant, try a gaming store or the internet.
I love some of the classes in the Advanced Player's Guide & Advanced Class Guide. I think they offer newbies important options skipped in the Core/Unchained books. That said, definitely limit the options you're exploring. Just because a class or option appears in one of these books doesn't mean you have to include it in your game.
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I followed advice I got here to actually create pre-generated characters when I introduced my sister to PF. It worked really well! Unfortunately, it involves a fair amount of knowing the system in order to create characters -- and a fair amount of work on characters that might never get used.
So maybe instead you could create bios, just a few paragraphs each, on several different kinds of characters. Make sure they all involve classes you think you can help design, and pasts that a first-level character might accomplish! You might specify race, or you might leave it obscured (and let him pick it). Just ask your friend to read the bios.
Hopefully, as your friend reads through them, he'll be intrigued enough to pick one to explore. Then the pair of you will have to work through character creation to put stats on that bio. Be prepared to do a lot of the heavy lifting on this -- you don't want to turn your friend away over the mechanics.
Once that's done, you're going to have to find a module or brew yourself an adventure that caters to that character. What can they do well? Make sure they have the chance to do it. And as you start play, you can observe what your friend likes to do, and make sure that that comes up in the game, too. (If you went with a published module, you may be able to modify it to add RP opportunities, for instance.)
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For an alternative approach, Headfirst was looking at a beginner class called the Adventurer. I'm going to find out for you if a clean version ever has been written up. The idea is a vanilla class that would let your friend try RP'ing a 1st-level character that can do a little of everything, in order to figure out for himself what he enjoys. It would let him sit down at the table and play.
Rangers and Slayers make really good introductory characters, as do spontaneous casters like Oracles and Sorcerers. Too bad there isn't a PF version of the 3.5's Warlock (magic without bookkeeping!!!).
Rangers (and Slayers) are full BAB, have 2 good saves, d10 HD, and 6+ skill points--including fun skills like Climb, Stealth, Perception, Survival, Swim, Ride, and a bunch of Knowledges. Rangers also teach you about Bonus Feats (without worrying about pre-requisites!), spells, pets or buffing (different kinds of Hunter's Bond), non-combat conflict resolution (via Wild Empathy), and dealing with different types of monsters and terrain. Slayers pretty much trade out spells for sneak attack and favored enemy for an easier to use studied target ability.
Oracles and Sorcerers just need spell cards and help choosing fun spells of the style the PC will want to use.
Do not intro them at first level, 3rd might be better. Still fairly simple, but not dead by breathing too hard.
Knowing your audience will help you on how Light or Dark the story should be. If you are going module, be prepared for it to go off the rails, and try not to force the party back on them. Nothing turns off a neophyte faster than being forced to do something they think is stupid. Emphasize the advantages F2F has over E-RPG.
Here's something that might help: Adventurer Starter Class
Headfirst, thanks for running on over here! And I love the way you present the class in this doc.
<> You have:
Your touch AC is just your Dex mod and, if you chose it, 1 from the Dodge feat. Your flat-footed AC is just your armor and shield bonuses.
Shouldn't that be "10 +" those bonuses?
<> Under CMB & CMD, I think you should specify that the size bonus is 0.
<> For your "Onto the Second Page" header, I believe the correct wording is "On to..." (I want to make a joke here.) See the Oxford Dictionary for more on this.
<> Moving on to the "Adventurer" section, under Weapon and Armor Proficiency, I believe "You can cast spells in light armor..." should specify "Adventurer spells" to be consistent with normal multiclassing.
<> The nittiest nit yet: Under Minor Magic, ray of frost isn't italicized.
Finally, a couple of slightly more substantive comments:
<> For the intro to "Filling out the Character Sheet," I'd prefer a reassuring sentence like "You shouldn't worry about what these things mean yet; you'll find out in play."
<> At the conclusion, I think it would be helpful if you included a paragraph for GMs on how to upgrade an Adventurer at 2nd level. For instance, are they Adventurer-1 and something-1 characters? Or something-2 characters? It makes a big difference for the proficiencies and abilities and what-not. It also would be nice if there were instructions for cases where the player wants a different race than human (at level-up to 2nd).
But again, this is great!