Just got my Pathfinder books in the mail, and looking through them with curiosity.
To get me straight to the heart of what's different that I'll need to know as a player being handed a pregen for what will be our first session later in the month - what should I read first?
Where to go in my Core book to find the significant changes?
Anything I should mentally prepare myself for ahead of time?
I gather most of the group the GM is forming will be new to Pathfinder, with a few exceptions that will likely help us smooth the transition. But I'd like to be more prepared than 'random gamer with a d20.' :)
Did you download and read the free conversion guide?
EDIT: LINK.
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What exactly do you mean by "old DnD"? Because if you mean retro (0E, B/X, 1E, BECMI, 2E, or RC), the answer is vastly different that if you mean 3.0 or 3.5.
If you're coming from retro D&D, pretty much everything is vastly different. Which actually probably makes things a little easier.
If you're coming from 3.X, almost everything has minor changes. So minor that you may not notice that you're doing it the old way unless someone points it out to you.
At any rate, the Core Rulebook is what you should read first.
Start with the classes. They have the biggest changes. Fighters have class abilities now. Most classes gain something every level, and being a specialist wizard is now no longer just a matter of using extra spells.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to being a random gamer with a D20.. just rushing in heedless of the dangerous mechanics lurking in the darkness..
Start with the classes. They have the biggest changes. Fighters have class abilities now. Most classes gain something every level, and being a specialist wizard is now no longer just a matter of using extra spells.
+1
Also the races have changed a lot.
oh, be VERY careful with the races. They changed a lot of little things you might miss.
All of the races are either +2 +2 -2 or +2 of your choice
Dwarves no longer automatically have +2 to craft in stone and metal (they can pick it up in the apg though)
Elves need 8 hours of sleep like everyone else,
Half orcs no longer have penalties. They're +2 to whatever stat you want, so they can be charismatic or even smart.
Grapple bullrush etc are no longer opposed rolls. You have an "armor class" against them called your combat manuever defense.
You no longer get to wear a set of clothes without encumbrance.
Magic items no longer take XP to make. They have their own rules section, but the wording is a little ambiguous as to what you can make without haveing the spell yourself.
You can make magic items while adventuring (albiet it at a slower rate)
Polymorphing/shapeshifting has been simplified. Its now basically a size bonus rather than a total rewrite of your character. Its still good but druids got a much needed nerf hammer.
Elves need 8 hours of sleep like everyone else
Although they still are immune to sleep effects, also in my group we still roleplay the elves's sleep as trance (it is mechanical identical to spleep only that they "sleep" as the other races do)