Pathfinder Beginner Box

Can we make the pregen sheets for this available as a separate download for players please without them having to own the box. Alternatively, is it acceptable for a GM to provide players with a copy of the pregen PDF?

If I want to introduce new players to the game it doesnt make much sense for them to have to buy the product (with all the attendant GM stuff, including the adventure) to be able to play. Given that the vast majority of games currently are being run online I need to be able to provide the players with their pregen, which means them either downloading the pdf or me sending it to them.

Aren't there level 1 pregen sheets for the iconics somewhere around here already? Probably not with the same helpful information these have, but the same stats, I would hope.

Aren't there level 1 pregen sheets for the iconics somewhere around here already? Probably not with the same helpful information these have, but the same stats, I would hope.

I could not find them on the product page where I would expect them to be.

PF2 Iconics

Not the same stats though. Using Lvl 1 Cleric as an example
Iconics use Ability Scores and Ability Mods.
There aren't any Ability Scores in the BB rules, and there isn't a place for them on the character sheet.

Human heritage is different (Versatile on Iconic, Warden on BB). Warden isn't a human heritage available in the CRB

BB Cleric has a shield, Iconic cleric does not.
BB Cleric has 21 HP, Iconic cleric has 16.
BB Cleric has trained light and medium armor proficiency, Iconic has only light armor proficiency.
BB Cleric has 1st lvl spells Burning Hands, Magic Weapon, Heal. Iconic has Bless, Heal, and Sanctuary.
BB Cleric has cantrips Detect Magic, Disrupt Undead, Light, Message, Stabilize; Iconic Cleric has Daze, Disrupt Undead, Guidance, Light Stabilize.

Iconic Cleric has a lot of things that the BB Cleric doesn't have, such as different ancestry ability, different skill feats. Student of the Canon, etc.

The Iconics sheet is much more complicated than the BB character sheet, includes many things from the CRB that aren't included in the Hero's Handbook; and the characters are built differently, sometimes using choices from the Hero's Handbook that aren't available in the cRB.

All in all, you can't hand a player the 1st level Cleric pregen and have them be able to play using the BB rules.

Hm. The lack of ability scores in the BB, but the placement of them on the non-BB iconics' character sheets, strikes me as a non-problem, since the scores on the non-BB sheets can just be ignored.

Warden isn't available in the CRB. Okay. Where is it available, other than the BB? is this an error in the BB? (I thought the BB was supposed to be a "cut-down" version of the CRB, just leaving out references to things not available to low-level characters.)

Shield/no shield. Okay, that might confuse a beginner.

Why the HP difference? How did that happen?

Armor proficiency. Is this a result of some erratum for the CRB that hasn't been applied to the iconic's sheet yet?

Spells difference strikes me as a "right hand/left hand" problem.

....

<sigh> Okay, I give up. You're right, it won't work. Seems like something that either should have been thought of way back when the iconics were first generated, or re-thought with the development of the BB and changed for the older iconics.

Where is it available, other than the BB? is this an error in the BB? (I thought the BB was supposed to be a "cut-down" version of the CRB, just leaving out references to things not available to low-level characters.)

Why the HP difference? How did that happen?

The HP difference partly comes from the +4 you get if you choose the "Warden" human heritage. I haven't dug deep enough to figure out the other +1

(I thought the BB was supposed to be a "cut-down" version of the CRB, just leaving out references to things not available to low-level characters.)

In addition to things being left out (ie, all ancestries except human, elf, and dwarf; all classes except Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard), some things got combined.

For example, there are no Ancestry Feats in the BB, but when you choose among the three human Heritages, you get bonuses that are essentially one of the Ancestry Feat bonuses applied to that Heritage. They basically said, "If you choose this Heritage, you automatically choose this Ancestry Feat" and made it a single option.

That's also how Ancestry/Heritage works for elves and dwarves as well: a Heritage has the Ancestry Feat pre-selected.

Warden (as a human heritage) isn't on Archives of Nethys either.

Seems to me that if the idea behind this BB was that one could start with the box, and then smoothly transition to the main ruleset without any problems, adding stuff to the BB that isn't available anywhere else was a mistake.

Warden is versatile heritage with a selection of feats included. The human “heritages” in the BB are basically:
* Battle-trained: Versatile heritage (weapon training that gives you martial, no matter your original training) + General training (Diehard)
* Skilled: Skilled heritage + Natural Skill
* Warden: Versatile heritage, with a choice between “Toughness, but gives you the benefit it should give at lvl 4”, “Canny Acumen to fortitude”, or “Armor training that gives you medium no matter your original training”

The other ancestries are a bit easier to find out which heritage/feats they have.
As human doesn’t have lot of “non half human” heritages, they just gave fancy names to different choices for versatile.

Weirdly, human is the only one that doesn’t name the feat the heritage gives. (Except Diehard, that one is named...)
Looking at the human page, I think there was some things that got lost in copy fitting.

Open Gaming License Alert

The digital assets for the Beginner Box do not contain the OGL.
I searched all the extracted files for
'license' = no result
'1.0A' = no result
'ogl' = 1 result (trOGLodyte)

In the physical product, the license is printed on the wrapper for the bottom half of the box. It's not visible when the box is closed, since it's on one of the sides, not on the bottom.

But it seems to be missing entirely from the digital version.

Aaron Shanks wrote:

Jam412 wrote:

Druuw wrote:

Quick Question for the nice people at Paizo.

I purchased the Beginner Box at Roll20. Looking great. With other Pathfinder purchases I have made on Roll20 I was given a PDF version of the product - which appeared in my downloads. Nothing has shown up for the Beginner Box.Any Advice?

Same here. I emailed customer support for roll20 last week, but haven't heard back. If I get an answer from them before something pops up here, I'll let you know.

Inquiry received. Answer unknown at this time. Will research and reply. (This is my robot golem voice. haha)

Yes, if you buy the Pathfinder Beginner Box from Roll20 you should find the PDF in your Digital Downloads here. We are following up on this internally to ensure you do.

Has anyone that purchased this on roll20 gotten their PDF yet?

For now, customers looking for free PreGens will find them in our Community Use Package. Those looking for free blank character sheets will find them at the Pathfinder Beginner Box landing page.

How long is the introductory adventure? One session or more?

How long is the introductory adventure? One session or more?

19 encounters.

How long is the introductory adventure? One session or more?

I ran the Beginner Box adventure for a group who was done in about two shorter sessions that lasted about 3 hours each.

For now, customers looking for free PreGens will find them in our Community Use Package. Those looking for free blank character sheets will find them at the Pathfinder Beginner Box landing page.

The Community Use Pregen Pakcage DOES NOT contain the Beginner Box pregens. This creates issues as there are significant mechanical differences between the Begiiner Box pregens and the regular ones. The additional difficulty is created because for PFS sanctioned play we must use either the Beginner Box pregens or players must crate their own Beginner Box character.

As we are not allowed to share PDFs can we please add the Beginner Box pregens to the community use package.

For now, customers looking for free PreGens will find them in our Community Use Package. Those looking for free blank character sheets will find them at the Pathfinder Beginner Box landing page.

I don't know where best to reach the devs on this, but the Beginner Box has an important error for people new to the system. It asks for "DEX" to calculate your Melee Weapon bonus, instead of "STR."

This same error is in the pregens as well.

(At least this is true for the PDFs I downloaded.)

EDIT: I see that the download files are now updated and corrected! You can ignore!

Aaron Shanks wrote:

For now, customers looking for free PreGens will find them in our Community Use Package. Those looking for free blank character sheets will find them at the Pathfinder Beginner Box landing page.

The Community Use Pregen Pakcage DOES NOT contain the Beginner Box pregens. This creates issues as there are significant mechanical differences between the Begiiner Box pregens and the regular ones. The additional difficulty is created because for PFS sanctioned play we must use either the Beginner Box pregens or players must crate their own Beginner Box character.

As we are not allowed to share PDFs can we please add the Beginner Box pregens to the community use package.

Message received. Will route internally.

Don't know if this has been mentioned. But on the flip map there's a missing Door right before the Kobold Warren. At least on the PDF.

The image on the GMG has the door, and the description of the area says "as the door opens", but the map itself doesn't have it.

Okay, so as I understand it, if you buy the PDF from Paizo, you get a discount on the material from Roll20. How is that communicated? I have heard quite a few people not getting the discount. Is this a manual thing requiring emails to Paizo and/or Roll20?

At least on the PDF.

It's the same on the print product.

Okay, so as I understand it, if you buy the PDF from Paizo, you get a discount on the material from Roll20. How is that communicated? I have heard quite a few people not getting the discount. Is this a manual thing requiring emails to Paizo and/or Roll20?

From your roll20 account you can link your paix I account. Then when you go to a product on roll20 marketplace, you will see the discounted price. I don’t see it on search pages, but I do before purchase.

Hey folks, sorry for the oversight but the Beginner Box pregenerated characters are now available in our Community Use Package! You can find and add them to your downloads here.

Hey folks, sorry for the oversight but the Beginner Box pregenerated characters are now available in our Community Use Package! You can find and add them to your downloads here.

Thanks Katina!

Just finished running this for some friends, using full rules and all options available.
Let just say that the ancestry choice of one player brought great shenanigans, and it was a blast.
(Ran it purely from the PDF. My players were all PF1 veterans, and had either read a bit about PF2 before, or played in my Playtest game, so no real need for the “slimmed down” version.)
(Also, the orc fighter realized she could punch things without the need of feats like in PF1, and proceeded to almost exclusively fight bare fisted.)

(Also, the orc fighter realized she could punch things without the need of feats like in PF1, and proceeded to almost exclusively fight bare fisted.)

It’s so liberating. It’s one of my favorite “little changes” for 2E.

Is there a reason the dice set in the BB are not numerically balanced?

Dice are traditionally numbered such that the largest number is located opposite the smallest, next largest opposite next smallest, etc.

Only the d6 is like this in the BB - to the point where I'm buying my wife a second set of dice from elsewhere, in those colors, which are properly made.

Is the damage on Merisiels melee weapons an error? I think she is adding her dex to damage, but the finesse trait isn't supposed to do that right?

Edit: Never mind! It's from the "Thief" trait.

Is there an error on in the wizard section from the rules in the Heros Handbook?

The rules are supposed to be basically the same as in the CRB but there is a difference. If you choose a school in the CRB you get 6 1. level spells in your spellbook and 3 spellslots PLUS the focus spell of your school:

CRB 204
"plus one extra cantrip and spell of your chosen school of each level you can cast if you are a specialist wizard."

"The spellbook contains your choice of 10 arcane cantrips and five 1st-level arcane spells. You"

CRB 207
"Abjuration
As an abjurer, you master the art of protection, strengthening
defenses, preventing attacks, and even turning magic
against itself. You understand that an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure. You add one 1st-level abjuration
spell (such as feather fall) to your spellbook. You learn the
protective ward school spell (page 407)."

Which would mean 6 1. level spells in your book PLUS "protective ward" and the ability to memorize 3 per day.

Beginners Box Heros Handbook 35

"SPELLCASTING
Through dedicated study and practice, you’ve learned to
harness arcane power to cast spells. Each morning, you study
your spellbook to decide what spells you want to cast that
day. This is called preparing your spells. Every day, you can
prepare two 1st-level spells and five cantrips from the list on
pages 36–37. When you prepare a spell, check the “Prep” box
next to that spell on your character sheet."

"Abjuration
With abjuration, you master the art of protection,
strengthening defenses and preventing attacks. You learn
the protective ward school spell and the following 1st-level
spells: burning hands, feather fall, mage armor, shocking
grasp, and sleep. Write these in the spellbook section of your
character sheet"

Which means 5 spells for the book and 2 to memorize PLUS "protective ward"

Or am I getting something wrong?

Is there an error on in the wizard section from the rules in the Heros Handbook?

The rules are supposed to be basically the same as in the CRB but there is a difference. If you choose a school in the CRB you get 6 1. level spells in your spellbook and 3 spellslots PLUS the focus spell of your school:
(snip)

Which means 5 spells for the book and 2 to memorize PLUS "protective ward"

Or am I getting something wrong?

The Beginner Box is not *exactly* the same as the Core Rulebook. There are some rules that aren't included at all, and others that have been simplified. Sometimes that means that options available in the CRB are not available to a character using the BB rules.

So, you're not getting anything wrong. The BB gives the Wizard with the Abjuration school 5 spells in their spell book plus a school spell. For comparison, the Evocation school and the Transmutation school also have 5 spells in their spell book plus a school spell in the Beginner Box.

In the CRB, Wizards also have a choice of Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Illusion, and Necromancy schools, none of which are available if you're using the BB Hero's Handbook to create your character.

If you are the GM, you're free to allow your players to use the CRB if you want to. If you're a player, ask your GM if that's OK.

Remember that the adventures written for BB characters are designed to work with characters created with BB rules. If you use a CRB character in one of those adventures, some of the encounters may need to be adjusted to challenge them.

The Beginner Box is not *exactly* the same as the Core Rulebook. There are some rules that aren't included at all, and others that have been simplified. Sometimes that means that options available in the CRB are not available to a character using the BB rules.

I understand that, but the BB are supposed to give you fewer options but in the end the characters should be the same. So you should be able to rebuild a character that was build with the BB in the same way with the CRB.

Take dwarfs for example. In the BB you don't get a free ability boost but you also don't get an charisma flaw. The dwarf you build with the BB is the same you would build with the CBR in that regard.

With the wizard that is not the case.

Is there a reason the dice set in the BB are not numerically balanced?

As long as your players are not intentionally trying to cheat, it doesn’t matter. Countdown dice roll the same as traditional tabletop dice. The method for manufacturing the dice has much more to do with its “balance” than the organization of the numbers. The polishing method is extremely inconsistent and dice naturally become weighted towards certain results. Roll dice in a tray or some other environment where they can both tumble and ricochet off a barrier and the results will be as random as the dice are possible of generating.

the BB are supposed to give you fewer options but in the end the characters should be the same.

That's simply not true, as you have discovered.

For example, there is a 38-page conversion document if you want to create a legal Pathfinder Society character starting from your BB character.

It includes statements such as If you took the Skilled heritage, then become trained in one additional skill of your choice.

There aren't many places, but there are a few where the BB characters are a bit limited and converting to a CRB character makes you more powerful

For example, there is a 38-page conversion document if you want to create a legal Pathfinder Society character starting from your BB character.

That document would help a great deal in figuring things out. Do you have a link?

Okay, a friend pointed me to this document:
https://www.organizedplayfoundation.org/pf2bb/

interestingly enought, the missing spell isn't mentioned there either.

On page 24 of the Heroes Handbook "Battle Medicine" is a reaction. Is that an error?

On page 24 of the Heroes Handbook "Battle Medicine" is a reaction. Is that an error?

Paizo hasn't issued an official errata nor have they said it's correct, but I've been running it using the CRB "one-action" rule.

Remember: if you use the printed CRB, Battle Medicine has been heavily errata'ed since the first printing. Check Archives of Nethys for the most current version of the feat.

On page 24 of the Heroes Handbook "Battle Medicine" is a reaction. Is that an error?

It's obviously an error, if it were a reaction, you could never actually use is, since it does not specify a trigger.

Does the Beginner Box 2E have the PZO2106E serial number?

Yes. Scroll up and the product code is listed as the last thing before the See Also section.

Starocotes wrote:

On page 24 of the Heroes Handbook "Battle Medicine" is a reaction. Is that an error?

It's obviously an error, if it were a reaction, you could never actually use is, since it does not specify a trigger.

I believe this error has already been corrected so that Battle Medicine is not a reaction, though I forget what the correction was. OTOH, it might have been that the error was in not specifying a trigger for the reaction, in which case the correction would be to specify the trigger. <shrug>

Is there an errata document for the Beginner Box?

Also, is a second printing anywhere on the horizon?

Is there an errata document for the Beginner Box?

Also, is a second printing anywhere on the horizon?

Errata will be published on this site when a second printing is complete. I have no timeline to share. But I can tell you that I’m trying to promote sales as fast as I can. ;)

The paradox here, unfortunately, is that the prospect of a new, corrected printing on the horizon actually impedes the sale of the current printing, and thus delays the publication of the new printing.

Errata will be published on this site when a second printing is complete. I have no timeline to share. But I can tell you that I’m trying to promote sales as fast as I can. ;)

Thanks!

The paradox here, unfortunately, is that the prospect of a new, corrected printing on the horizon actually impedes the sale of the current printing, and thus delays the publication of the new printing.

I know. I wouldn’t mind buying a first printing, though, if I had a list of errata. That’s what xtra-fine sharpies are for. :)

Has Paizo made the reference cards from this box available elsewhere as an individual purchase? These are insanely popular even with my non-Beginner's Box players. I can't be the only one that sees the value in making 50-count Reference Card packs for individual purchase, right?

Such a product would easily let me provide them as a gift to every player at my table, veteran or newbie alike. I love Pathfinder 2e, and it has been my system of choice for awhile now. But it does have a reputation for being a bit overwhelming. Anything as effective as these reference cards that can help chip away at that perception, whether it's deserved or simply an illusion, should definitely be made available for the masses.

I remember this being requested in the past, but it's been awhile and I don't know if the idea was ever embraced. If they're sold separately, and I'm just missing the link, could someone please post it. And if they haven't been made available, then please mark my vote down as a +1 for it to happen. Thank you.

Has Paizo made the reference cards from this box available elsewhere as an individual purchase? These are insanely popular even with my non-Beginner's Box players. I can't be the only one that sees the value in making 50-count Reference Card packs for individual purchase, right?

Such a product would easily let me provide them as a gift to every player at my table, veteran or newbie alike. I love Pathfinder 2e, and it has been my system of choice for awhile now. But it does have a reputation for being a bit overwhelming. Anything as effective as these reference cards that can help chip away at that perception, whether it's deserved or simply an illusion, should definitely be made available for the masses.

I remember this being requested in the past, but it's been awhile and I don't know if the idea was ever embraced. If they're sold separately, and I'm just missing the link, could someone please post it. And if they haven't been made available, then please mark my vote down as a +1 for it to happen. Thank you.

We have not. Thanks for the input. We are always looking for a way to reduce barriers to entry.

Is there someplace I can buy more sets of the beginners box dice?

Is there someplace I can buy more sets of the beginners box dice?

Here!

Can anyone tell me exactly how many bases are included in the beginner's box? I'm gonna be bringing the box to a family vacation but would rather wait to unwrap it for packing purposes. I'm gonna have 7 players (I know, I know, too many)and will have scaled up encounters to match and want to make sure I pack extra bases if I need them. I didn't spot a specific number listed and I couldn't quite make out a count from the official unboxing vid, but it looked like too few.