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I have limited time to post and will weigh in properly tomorrow, but an excellent resource is the following website- D20PFSRD
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Redprodigy, I'm planning on starting up a Pathfinder game using Maptools virtual tabletop pretty soon. I'm looking for 3 more players.
You can download the client for free at www.rptools.net or directly by clicking this link: http://www.rptools.net/download/zip/maptool-1.3.b74.zip
If you're interested, create a character using 20 point buy for ability scores. Try to create the sheet at www.myth-weavers.com or, just send me an e-mail listing your character details, or like a scanned sheet.
We plan on playing Monday nights 8pm Eastern time. Don't worry if you're new. I have experience with 3.5 but still pretty new to PF myself.
To answer your questions:
1. If you're looking for a face-to-face game in NYC, I think there is a pretty big D&D RPGA group that you can find at www.meetup.com.
2. Yes. Gaming stores will probably carry PF stuff, though they usually tend more towards D&D
3. Just try to get in a game and play (my game!). That is the best way to learn. Don't purchase adventures/splatbooks unless you plan to DM cause then you might spoil for yourself something you might play.
I've been playing D&D, off and on, since like fourth grade and really like what I've done with Pathfinder so far. The change to 3.0 made D&D far more welcoming to new folks, I think, and this is basically 3.75, a far better choice than 4.0, IMO.
1. I would suggest looking on gaming sites (or maybe CraigsList? I don't know) for groups to play with. Honestly, I prefer not playing at gaming stores. I think this may be somewhat age dependent, but I've found in my 30s that I prefer hanging out with my group (who are also my close friends) at one of our homes. Maybe gaming/comics stores used to (still?) allow flyers advertising groups lookig for players, but I'd assume it's easier to find folks online.
This may be the most important thing when it comes to tabletop gaming -- finding a group that suits you. There are all types of players out there, and only you know exactly what you're looking for. Some will be more welcoming to new players than others, willing to explain rules, etc. Some are very strict about the rules, others play more loosey-goosey. Some will focus a lot on fights and treasure, others on characterization. I've had people join groups only for us all to realize they don't fit in and I've joined groups myself only to realize I don't ever want to go back. A good group is worth its weight in gold, IMO.
2. Not sure on this. I haven't found Paizo products in too many brick and mortar stores, but have bought everything online. Again, I'd guess online's the easiest way to find a group to play with, but I thankfully haven't had to do that since I moved here and first found my current group (we're all friends now, but most of us met via a posting at a comic store).
3. I think the only reading you really need to do is the core PF book and online forums. Again, though, remember gaming styles will vary. I've seen some really cool optimization discussions on this board, for example, but remember that should (IMO) be balanced with an actual character. I think that aspect tends to be the most difficult part for new players to get. It may be easiest early on to try to adapt a favorite fantasy novel or movie character into something you feel like you can play. (I came up with a character, for example, based on Mozzie from "White Collar," though I haven't had a chance to play with him yet.) I haven't posted a lot on this message board, but there seem to be lots of good folks who are certainly willing to help you flesh out a character as well (both in terms of what you want his story to be and in terms of game mechanics to make him/her the best character he/she can be).
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Welcome to the hobby! The most important thing is: Just find some people and play. The rest will take care of itself. Really good advice upthread, so take advantage of that. Also, if you haven't already, throw a post in the Gamer Connection thread near the bottom of this forum stating where you're at and what you're looking for, and you may get a response right here!
RPG peeps are almost always good people, so don't worry too much about jumping right in!
J
Does anyone know if there's a listing of organized Pathfinder Society events, like there was for Living Grayhawk? I haven't gotten into that just yet, but it strikes me as a great way to get started; you can basically just show up with a character, and play a session without becoming married to a group.
Of course in all likelihood that'll just whet your appetite. ;) I really think that in-person play is better, especially if you're just starting out. Depending on your comfort level around relative strangers, a group of familiar faces is probably better to start with, even if they're only passing acquaintances. I've had games with coworkers on numerous occasions.
For that matter, nearly all my local gamer friends just vanished off to college (I'm the geezer in the group), so I went down to the supermarket and started asking the employees there (who I don't really know, but see almost daily) if they're interested in roleplaying games. I got a couple of bites, and they turned out to have a few friends also interested, so I'll be GMing for a table of 6 starting next week -- 4 of whom are completely new to the game, and 1 new to anything past 1st Edition!
If that technique comes up bust, or if you just don't mind making a new set of friends for this purpose, any game shop should have a bulletin board to help you find a group. More importantly, the good ones will have table space, and people right there playing! Don't be shy about quietly observing other groups' sessions, or (afterwards) asking a GM if there's room for another character. When you're searching for game stores, also check under "hobby."
Where in new jersey are you? Unfortunately a lot of the metro area gaming stores have gone the way of the dodo in the last few years. The only one still standing in new york city proper that I know of is the complete strategist (on 33rd street in Manhattan), which is just a retail store, but it is definitely a good bet to meet up with people/pick up things you cant find at borders.
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Red prodigy35 welcome. I hope you enjoy this strange interesting hobby of ours.
the previous posters are offering you some excellent advice.
To answer your first question I would suggest a game store. Since you mentioned that you live in NJ right next to NY, I would suggest two places in Manhattan. The first store is the Complete Strategist. Ask for Larry. He is very knowledgeable. I would also recommend Neutral Ground.
Game stores are a good place to get in touch with the local gaming community. The people who work there often know allot about what is going on. Often there is a bulletin board. Now days probably a website.
I would first recommend seeing if you can join a game at a gaming store. This can give you an introduction to the game. The other advantage is that the gaming store is a public place. After playing for a while at a gaming store, often you can get an invitation into a “home game” or a game that meets in someone’s home.
As for other materiel? All you really need is the Pathfinder rulebook to play the game. Well that and some dice pencils paper and imagination. You don’t need anything else.
IF you are looking for some more materiel to devour, you might want to download the Pathfinder Chronicles: Gazetteer. It will give you a good overview of the Pathfinder world, of Golaron, which Paizo is producing materiel for. I can recommend the Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Korvosa, and Pathfinder Chronicles: City of Strangers. These are two excellently written books that give you cities to play in.
Also one important thing to remember is this. Just relax and try to have fun.
Don’t worry about knowing the rules backwards and forwards.
Just jump in and play. We learn by doing and making mistakes.
Again Welcome and Good Luck
ElyasRavenwood I was under the impression Neutral Ground Closed its doors have you been there recently?
Does anyone know if there's a listing of organized Pathfinder Society events, like there was for Living Grayhawk? I haven't gotten into that just yet, but it strikes me as a great way to get started; you can basically just show up with a character, and play a session without becoming married to a group.
I completely agree - I've gotten quite a few new players recently through Pathfinder Society (PFS).
You can check for regular events on the .
You can also search for games and gamers on PenAndPaperGames.com.
1. Here's a list of player finders online. A bit dated, but you may find some luck:
RPG.NET Forum.
As mentioned before, besides your FLGS, comic book stores are also a good resource to find gamers. Local video game stores might be good too. You can also look for gaming conferences. PAX East is in Boston. PAX EAst.
2. I buy via Amazon.com
3. If you're a visual person, you can get a sense for the game (not the PF rules, however) watching WoTC Videos.
I'll echo that finding a good group makes all the difference.
Good luck!
Hopefully in your net reading you've come across the term FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store/Shop), which applies game hobby shops typically. These can either be standalone that deal mostly with board and card games along with PnP RPGs. They could also be combined with a comic shop sometimes, depending on your town/city/area. Most FLGSs are sometimes a good place to find out about the local gaming groups in your area.
The best way to learn the game on your own is to read the book cover to cover... like a textbook, ug sorry for saying that but true. Then go back and try to make a character, don't worry if you have to erase and start over several times. I suggest you start with a Fighter, then make a Rogue, a Cleric, then a Wizard. After you do that you should have a much better grasp of the basic game while you're looking for a new group.
If you're looking online for a face to face group, ENWorld.org has a new feature called Gamers Seeking Gamers that lets you locate nearby groups that have marked their position on the map.
Also, you could try accessdenied.net, or penandpapergames.com.
Other than that, there's always online play! :)
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ElyasRavenwood I was under the impression Neutral Ground Closed its doors have you been there recently?
No i havn't. I moved out of the city five years ago to vermont. I was unaware that neutral ground shut down. thank you
I still get back to the city every so often. I usually try to stop by the complete strat to bug larry and buy a few books.
Hi guys,just got into PnP RPG's last week. Did alot of looking online, which was inspired by re-installing NWN2 on my laptop. Went to the bookstore, got myself the D&D 4.0 PHB. Took it home, read for about 3 hours, and decided it wasn't for me. Then I went back online and did alot more reading.
Turns out I liked reading about 3.5. I liked everything I read about it, from the wiki's I could find online, and reviews. But then I wanted to get into it, so I went on Amazon, only to find that the core rule books were way overpriced for 3.5
So, in my pursuit of 3.5, I came across PF. I liked everything I read about it as well, but this is coming from someone who has played neither, but did research extensively online.
Took 4.0 back to Border's and got myself the PF PHB. Doing alot of reading at the moment, and am quite overwhelmed, seeing as im fairly new to D&D style play, and totally new to the pen and paper genre altogether. I've spent most of my time with RPG's using and mouse and keyboard.
I'm really trying to get into all this and grasp as much as I can, however I have some key questions:
1.) Where can I find people to play with... Looking online, my options seem very limited to find structured groups that play at gaming stores or otherwise. Maybe I'm not looking in the right forums/websites, but whatever I've found seems very scarce. I live right next to NYC in NJ, so I thought I'd have alot of options. Any suggestions? I'm getting into this myself, with no friends who are into this type of thing... At least that I'm aware of... I've been asking.
2.) What retail stores carry 3.5, and PF games? I've ran numerous searches on google, and only found a couple of stores in the NYC area who specialize in PnP RPG's. I'm guessing these locations would be a good place to meet other players, and play some games.
3.) Any recommended reading material for a PF newb, and someone who is new to this genre of gaming as well. I'm pretty sure I'd like to stick and start out with PF, but am willing to read up on...
Hey bud Im not too sure about the city but if your willing to travel I live upstate in dutchess county and theres lots of games that go on around here. About 1.5 hrs north of nyc you will find poughkeepsie and a place called dragons den. I know suffolk county long island had tons of places also. Are you limited to just jersey and nyc?
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Thanks alot for the info guys, def. will be going over this thread multiple times to get all that I can outta it.
@ Plissken Def will look into online play. Didn't know how viable an option that was. I'll get back to you once I do some of this reading bud. Thanks alot for the invite! I am having a little bit of an issue with discerning what I should be reading and not.
@ Kolokotroni That was the store that kept coming up. I simply cant get around the fact that there is not like a couple bigger stores that have fill calendars of events and whatnot easily accessible.
@ Majuba Thanks for the links, def. gonna look at those communities... Seems promising.
@ Tejon Def. will start using keyword "hobby", getting alot more relevant queries.
@ ElyasRavenwood Def. will be checking out some of those downloads. I like to do alot of this reading, its excellent, and way in depth which I like. At this point though I'm trying to mix alot of general PF and 3.5 along with of course the core number crunching of rules...
At everyone else, thanks alot for the advice, guess my best bet is to go to the Complete Strategist for face to face games, and search the online forums. Otherwise, just get to the reading in the Players Handbook.
Anyone know of where to go about getting a 3.5 book in reasonable condition and price?
Thanks again!
Im glad i could help. The books i recommended are fluff heavy. Hmm. a new oxymoron! Fluff heavy. good luck
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When I moved from Michigan to Houston I used Meetup.com. I joined a gaming group, went to a couple of meetins, put myself out there as someone looking to join a game, and got invited to one the first night. I still game with much of that group, and it has expanded my circle of friends here in town. My other group I met through the Gamer Connection section of this forum.
I would agree with previous advice - think of a few character ideas. Maybe some characters from a fantasy book you enjoyed, or some sort of movie character - and try to create them with the rules. I would suggest you pick different character skill sets for these characters (not all are weapon masters, not all are great wizards, not all are clever scoundrels). This will give you some insight into character creation.
When you join a new group, explain that you are new. Ask for suggestions - ask that when you are trying to decide what to do, other people explain the consequences of your choices. Think out loud a little bit as you choose character options or character actions - give people a chance to explain the consequences of these options.
Take people's advice as just that, however. Advice. This is YOUR character. Maybe someone really feels you should take their favorite fighter feat X - but you don't want to do X. You want your character to do Y. If you want to go a different route, don't hesitate to do so. My only request is that you always consider "Will my choices HURT the party?" For example, are you making a thief that is going to rob your fellow party members randomly because he's a kleptomaniac? That kind of character can be amusing to read about - much less amusing to play with.
If the other people in the group are horribly bossy, refuse to let you make your own choice after you've had consequences explained to you, or they don't explain the consequences of actions so you can plan fairly (i.e. If you move more than five feet (one square) away from that guy, he gets an attack of opportunity on you, and he could hurt you.), they may not be the group for a new player. Don't give up! I've had good experiences while learning, and I do my best to make sure all the new players I introduce now have the same.