The last time I played a RPG was my senior year of high school in 1993. Back then I played DC Super Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes, and especially Lord of the Rings (along with a strange but fun cartoon character RPG with a title I cannot remember).
Now that I have two boys, I thought I'd see how the gaming world has changed. I recently purchased both the Marvel and DC game books and then went looking for a Lord of the Rings type game. I had never played D&D but was always curious. I came across Pathfinder and was very impressed. So I purchased the main book, the first Bestiary and NPC Codex. I have loved the reading but have found myself entirely lost as I have tried to create a character and understand combat. I don't know if I am not as sharp as I was when I am young or if the rule system is just so much more advanced that it is hard for me to grasp.
I would really appreciate it if gamers with experience could help me out. I have been trying to build my first level 1 character and have probably spent 3 hours over several different sessions trying to figure things out. What I am stuck on right now is how to figure out hit points both how they work (do you roll before every battle, each adventure, etc) and how do you figure out how many your character gets to start with.
If anyone has the time, I would really appreciate being walked through the whole character creation process - like if you could describe each step in a character you put together. I know this is asking a lot but I would be grateful!
