First let me say that I am really terribly sorry if this is posted in the wrong section, I couldn't decide whether advice, or Beginner box was the proper location. Looking through the Beginner Box posts it seemed as if they were all to do with the actual product, but whilst looking through the advice posts it seems to all do with character advice so I am not quite sure.
So, I am going to be brand spanking' new to the pen and paper RPG hobby, and I could honestly not be more excited. My interest started probably a little under a year ago when "Spoony" started posting You Tube videos of RPG memories under the channel "Counter Monkey", and wow all I can say is I was hooked I found all of the stories so intriguing, and it made me want to get into the hobby straight away. Then I stumbled upon Dawnforgedcast's Pathfinder basics videos, and ending up watching every video on his channel, and especially enjoying the recording of his sessions. Now recently I started watching A Fistful of Dice's work, and after countless hours upon hours of videos I am finally deciding to pull the trigger, and just try to jump into it.
From everything I have watched I really wanted to save up a small fortune to get everything I wanted before getting into it (which basically included the core rule book, advanced players guide, ultimate magic, ultimate combat, bestiary 1&2, a grid mat, and a bunch of pawns.) however that didn't really turn out all that well mainly because I am not that well off financially right now being only 19, and having to try to take care of everything I need to for myself. So I decided that tomorrow is pay day, and I will use everything I can spare to just get the barest essentials for what I need which is the core rule book, dice, and a dice bag (From everything I have watched it seems as if it is not common place to bring your own miniature, and that people seem to provide, though honestly I am not against using my own dice as a place holder if need be), now I assume this is everything I need, and I made it into an amazon wish list for simplicity's sake (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ACGW4X8IHVOZ/ref=topnav_lists_3 I assume all of that is fine, and would apreciate if anyone would tell me otherwise, and I thought about just getting a single set of dice, but from everything I have watched it seems as if a lot of times you will be rolling multiple d6's for damage pretty early on.)
Another thing I am kind of worried about is finding a group. I live in kind of a small town, and can't really find any near by groups online. I am not opposed to driving any distance in under an hour though, so I am sure I will be fine. I had the thought of using some of the online services to find a group, but I am not sure if there is a find a random group feature, not to mention it seems kind of awkward at first, plus I lack a webcam at the moment though would not be against getting one if that becomes my only option. I had also considered GMing my own group, but the two problems with that are I don't really have the funds to get the bestiary with the rule book, and I really want to get a firm grip around being a player before I start to GM.
I haven't really had any back, and forth with any people who play so I am looking forward to any replies.