Stripe's page

Greetings!

Finally, at long last, I got to play a game of Pathfinder. I had never played Pathfinder or D&D 3+ before, so it was quite an experience.

I played in the Colorado Springs Pathfinder Society Meetup 4/14/12 and had a blast. I played two sessions. The first session, I played Valeros the pre-gen fighter.

But, between the two sessions, the GM and players helped me make my own character, a human fighter named Ren. I decided I wanted to use a longbow and do as much damage as possible with it because during the previous session I recognized the value of ranged combat. It seems to better fit my play-style.

Here's hoping people can help me edit my character, if needed, and chose what to do for the second level. I only have the Core Rulebook, so please withhold suggestions using other books. I've yet to register him. If I understood him correctly, The GM said I could edit my first character until after my third game.

In the second session, I really liked using the masterwork composite longbow I used the 2 PA from the previous session to buy. It fit my play style and felled many enemies. Though I was first level and the others were third, I didn't in any way feel inferior or less "powerful" -- quite the opposite.

I think I'd like to really specialize with this bow, really make Ren a master of it throughout his career as he rises through the levels. Other than that, for when he has to engage in melee, I think I'd like to make him a greatsword fighter on the side. I did like Valeros' two-weapon style since I learned misses are bound to happen, and shields are indeed great, but for my play style I think a big 'ol two-handed greatsword is the way to go. Also, I tend to get into a lot of fist fights and wrestling matches; just saying.

So, without further ado, here are Ren's stats:

Ren
First Level Human Longbow Fighter

At the age of 17, Ren returned home to his family's mountain-side cabin only to find it burned to smoldering ashes, his parents and siblings along with it. Eventually, the strapping boy wandered into town where he was taken in by a bowyer. Ren was already hearty enough to sting the strongest longbows.

Quiet and distant in social situations, Ren knows he's a strong, stupid brute but is smart enough to keep him mouth shut. However, the strapping mountain man does form close bonds with those he feels he can trust and rely upon.

STR 16
DEX 18
CON 14
INT 7
WIS 13
CHA 7

HP 13

Fort +4
Reflex +4
Will +4

BAB +1
CMB +4

Weapon 1: Masterwork Composite Longbow (Spent 2 PA on it)
Weapon 2: Bastardsword

Skills
Climb +4

Feats
Point-Blank Shot
Precise Shot
Weapon Focus (Longbow)

Special Abilities
Reactionary
Indomitable Faith

Greetings!

This is my third post here. My last discussed my very recent purchase of the Beginner's Box. TL;DNR it: I love everything about it, and it made learning the rules from scratch under a rock with no D20/D&D 3.0+ experience actually possible.

My library currently consists of the Beginner's Box, Core Rulebook, Bestiary, and Council of Thieves: The Bastard of Erebus.

I've not yet made much headway other than with the BB. The Core Rulebook is a bit too heavy for me, and that's saying something; I taught myself GURPS 3e in the eighth grade. Since I'm 31 now, that's was some time before the Internet and no one else around me played any pencil-and-paper RPGs.

The PF core book just isn't set up very well to teach people how to play in a metaphorical vacuum, which is why the BB is so fantastic.

But, I wonder if there's another tool out there in the form of a game.

Could there perhaps be a GM-less solo dungeon, or a random dungeon generator à la AD&D DMG Appendix A: Random Dungeon Generation?

Thanks for reading and for all your replies!

-Stripe

Greetings!

In March '11, I picked up the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Bestiary, and the first issue of the Council of Thieves adventure path, but I was unable to teach myself the rules set under a rock quickly enough to maintain my interest.

I started a thread at that time: http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz3nd7?-Never-Played-DD-3-Just-Got-Pathfinder-Cor e#1

We are GURPS Fourth Edition players first and foremost, but SJ Games refuses to do what Paizo does so well, and that's put out lots of fun adventures and cool supplements brimming with beautiful artwork. The GURPS rules set is fantastic; SJG isn't. It's like they run their company in a vacuum separate from other game companies like Paizo.

Anyway, I saw the visually-stunning Beginner Box on the shelf of a local Barnes and Noble (no gaming or hobby shops around) and gave it a test heft. Man, is this thing heavy! I didn't even know what was inside -- I just trusted in Paizo to know what they were doing.

My trust seems to have been well founded. This thing is an RPG treasure trove!

I'm still going through the box and haven't played it yet, but rest assured I'll let you all know how it goes.

There will only be two players and myself as GM (DM?), and one of them is eight years old! He does pretty well. GURPS is much more "realistic" and lethal than any other system I've played (~10), and he still manages to behave rationally and not get himself killed. He's super excited to play. He watched, wide-eyed, as I opened the box and sifted through the extremely high-quality material.

So, consider this my second introduction post. :)

Until next time,

-Stripe

I've wanted to get the Pathfinder Core Rulebook for quite some time, but couldn't manage the $50 price tag. Then, yesterday, Borders had a going out of business sale and had it for 40% off, so I picked it up.

I'm 30 years old. I barely got started in the OD&D days during the switch to 2nd Edition. I played (DM'ed) a lot of 2nd Edition until I found GURPS Third Edition Revised. We started playing that about half way through high school and never quit until we got to the age where guys tend to quit playing.

The weekend when D&D 3e came out, when the stores could show it off and test it out but weren't suppose to sell it, I played a few sessions. It was okay, but I found that I liked the way GURPS did things a lot more than the "pencil-and-paper video game" systems.

When GURPS Fourth Edition came out, we got into that pretty heavy as often as adults can find time to role play. We've been off and on with it for years now.

I still like GURPS Fourth Edition best and will continue to I'm sure, but I really, really like the way Pathfinder looks and would like to do some old-school type dungeon delving with classes and experience points and level raising and all that jazz (though we'll still remain heavy on the in-character role playing and problem solving).

When I played AD&D 2nd Ed., I primarily used the the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's guide and the Monstrous Manual. Since this was well before the Internet, I didn't know about the Tome of Magic, or I would probably had that too. We didn't use any campagin setting because I made all that up as I went and drew maps with colored pencil on typewriter paper (my mom had a, gasp, "word processor").

In edition to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook (OGL) that I have, these are the books that, to my uneducated and ignorant eye, seem pretty vital:

* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary (OGL)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: GameMastery Guide (OGL)

As for the campaign setting, which I am interested in using, I think these products look the most appealing:

* Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio
* Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (PFRPG) Hardcover

With the core book, would those four products be a good start to playing Pathfinder? Are there better choices for a guy wanting to get started? All of it looks cool, but I can't drop several $100 for a couple months of four-hour sessions. ;)

All helpful suggestions and comments are appreciated! Thanks! :)